HYDROGELS OF TEMPO-OXIDIZED NANOCELLULOSE WERE STABILIZED FOR DRY-JET WET SPINNING USING A SHELL OF CELLULOSE DISSOLVED IN 1,5-DIAZABICYCLO[4.3.0]NON-5-ENIUM PROPIONATE ([DBNH][CO2ET]), A PROTIC IONIC LIQUID (PIL). COAGULATION IN AN ACIDIC WATER BATH RESULTED IN CONTINUOUS CORE-SHELL FILAMENTS (CSFS) THAT WERE TOUGH AND FLEXIBLE WITH AN AVERAGE DRY (AND WET) TOUGHNESS OF ?11 (2) MJ·M-3 AND ELONGATION OF ?9 (14) %. THE CSF MORPHOLOGY, CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, THERMAL STABILITY, CRYSTALLINITY, AND BACTERIAL ACTIVITY WERE ASSESSED USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY WITH ENERGY-DISPERSIVE X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY, LIQUID-STATE NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE, FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY, THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS, PYROLYSIS GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY, WIDE-ANGLE X-RAY SCATTERING, AND BACTERIAL CELL CULTURING, RESPECTIVELY. THE COAXIAL WET SPINNING YIELDS PIL-FREE SYSTEMS CARRYING ON THE SURFACE THE CELLULOSE II POLYMORPH, WHICH NOT ONLY ENHANCES THE TOUGHNESS OF THE FILAMENTS BUT FACILITIES THEIR FUNCTIONALIZATION.

METALS CAN POTENTIALLY PLAY A ROLE IN THE NON-ENZYMATIC PROCESSES INVOLVED IN WOOD BIODEGRADATION. DIHYDROXYBENZENES REDUCE CU(II)?CU(I), WHICH THEN REACT WITH H2O2 DRIVING A FENTON REACTION. IN THIS WORK THE DEGRADATION OF VERATRYL ALCOHOL (VA), THE SIMPLEST NON-PHENOLIC LIGNIN MODEL COMPOUND, VIA A CUPROUS FENTON REACTION MEDIATED BY 1,2-DIHYDROXYBENZENE (CATECHOL, CAT) WAS STUDIED. A FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN WAS PERFORMED TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF SEVERAL EXPERIMENTAL VARIABLES INCLUDING, PH, AND CAT, CUCL2 AND H2O2 CONCENTRATIONS ON VA DEGRADATION. OPTIMIZED CONDITIONS WERE DETERMINED USING A RESPONSE SURFACE MODELING METHODOLOGY (RSM). THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF VA DEGRADATION OCCURRED AT A CAT:CUCL2:H2O2 RATIO OF 0.287:0.313:4.062, A PH OF 3.6. A TIME-COURSE MEASUREMENT FOR VA DEGRADATION WAS PERFORMED UNDER THESE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS AND AFTER AN 8 H REACTION PERIOD, 31% OF THE VA WAS DEGRADED. UNDER THE SAME EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS, VA DEGRADATION BY AN IRON CAT-DRIVEN FENTON REACTION WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE COPPER CAT-DRIVEN FENTON REACTION. IN A SIMILAR EXPERIMENT, CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE (CMC) DEPOLYMERIZATION WAS ALSO DETERMINED. ONLY THE IRON CAT-DRIVEN FENTON REACTION WAS FOUND TO DEPOLYMERIZE CMC. WE SUGGEST THAT THE GREATER REDOX POTENTIAL OF THE FE(III)CAT COMPLEX COMPARED TO THE CU(II)CAT COMPLEX WOULD DICTATE THAT UNDER MOST ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, DEGRADATION OF VA WOULD OCCUR BY THE IRON COMPLEX ONLY. THIS RESEARCH HAS IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MECHANISMS OF BROWN ROT FUNGAL DEGRADATION IN WOOD BECAUSE IT ELIMINATES A PATHWAY THAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN PROPOSED AS A MECHANISM EXPLAINING FREE RADICAL GENERATION IN THE OXIDATIVE DEPOLYMERIZATION OF CELLULOSE IN THE CELL WALL.

THE DEGRADATION OF A HIGHLY LOADED ECF (ELE- MENTAL CHLORINE FREE) KRAFT MILL EFFLUENT WAS STUDIED AND OPTIMIZED USING A CATECHOL (CAT) DRIVEN FENTON REACTION IN A LAB-SCALE FOR 2 H AT ROOM TEMPERATURE USING A RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY BASED ON A CIR- CUNSCRIBED CENTRAL COMPOSITED DESIGN (CCC). OPTI- MAL COD REMOVAL WAS ACHIEVED AT: CATECHOL 150 ?M.; FE(III) 800 ?M; H 2 O 2 12000 ?M ; PH 2.5. AT THESE OPTIMAL REACTION CONDITIONS, TOC (TOTAL OR- GANIC CARBON), AOX (ADSORBABLE ORGANIC HALOGENS) AND ACUTE TOXICITY WERE DETERMINED AS WELL. COD, TOC, AND AOX REMOVALS ACHIEVED BY THE CAT DRIVEN FENTON REACTION WERE SIMILAR TO THOSE OB- TAINED BY CONVENTIONAL AND FENTON TYPE REACTIONS (40% REMOVALS, MEAN VALUE, IN ALL CASES). HOWEVER, THE ACUTE TOXICITY INCREASED DURING THE CAT DRIVEN FEN- TON REACTION AND THE CONVENTIONAL AND FENTON TYPE REACTIONS. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE CAT DRIVEN FENTON REACTION WOULD BE A MORE SUITABLE METHOD FOR EFFLUENT OXIDATION (AS A TERTIARY TREATMENT). FOR A FEA- SIBLE APPLICATION, WE SUGGEST TO IMMOBILIZE CAT, OR TO USE IT AS A SOLID PHASE WITH ANCHORED CATECHO

DEGRADATION OF EDTA IN A TOTAL CHLORINE FREE (TCF) CELLULOSE PULP BLEACHING EFFLUENT, USING UV AND UV/H2O2 IN PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF IRON, WAS STUDIED. ALL EXPERIENCES WERE CONDUCTED IN AN ANNULAR PHOTOLYTIC REACTOR AT PH 9, 20°C, AND 0.38 MM (110 MGL-1) EDTA CONCENTRATION. EDTA DEGRADATION FOLLOWED A FIRST ORDER APPARENT KINETICS, WITH RATE CONSTANT IN THE RANGE OF 0.02?0.72 MIN-1, DEPENDING ON THE INITIAL HYDROGEN PEROXIDE CONCENTRATION AND IRON CONTENT. UV TREATMENT WITHOUT PEROXIDE YIELDED 100 % DEGRADATION OF FE(III)-EDTA IN 40 MINUTES OF REACTION, BUT LOW COD (8 %) AND TOC (13 %) REMOVAL. PEROXIDE ADDITION (3.3 MM)INCREASED FE(III)-EDTA DEGRADATION RATES BY UV TREATMENT, RESULTING IN 100% REMOVAL AFTER 20 MINUTES, AND GREATER COD (28 %) AND TOC (36 %) REDUCTIONS. IN ABSENCE OF IRON, PEROXIDE ADDITION WAS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN EDTA DEGRADATIONYIELDS ABOVE 50% AFTER 1 H TREATMENT. RESULTS PRESENTED HERE SHOW THAT UV/H2O2 TREATMENT COULD BE SUITABLE AS A PRELIMINARY STAGE BEFORE A BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT.

THE USE OF SOLAR RADIATION TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY IS A PROMISING SOLUTION TO THE GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS, DUE TO ITS LOW CARBON FOOTPRINT AND GLOBAL AVAILABILITY. IN THIS SENSE, THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS ARE AN INTERESTING ALTERNATIVE BECAUSE OF ITS GOOD CONVERSION EFFICIENCIES AND THE SMALL AMOUNT OF MATERIAL NEEDED FOR THEIR MANUFACTURE [1]. ON THE OTHER HAND, NANOSTRUCTURED METAL SULFIDES HAVE BEEN EXTENSIVELY STUDIED DUE TO THEIR EXCELLENT PROPERTIES AND PROMISING APPLICATIONS IN ELECTRONIC AND OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES, SUCH AS SOLAR CELLS, LIGHT-EMITTING DIODES, AND NON-VOLATILE MEMORIES [2]. IN THIS SENSE, CDS IS A COMMONLY USED OPTICAL WINDOW MATERIAL IN THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS, DUE TO ITS HIGH OPTICAL TRANSPARENCY, WIDE BANDGAP ENERGY (2.42 EV) AND N-TYPE CONDUCTIVITY. TO USE AS AN ABSORBER LAYER, PBS HAS INTERESTING FEATURES LIKE DIRECT BANDGAP ENERGY (0.41 EV AT 300 K) P TYPE CONDUCTIVITY, AND LARGE EXCITON RADIUS (18 NM) WHICH PROVIDES STRONG QUANTUM CONFINEMENT OF ELECTRONS AND HOLES, THUS INCREASING THE ABSORPTION FOR SOLAR RADIATION IN THE NEAR INFRARED REGION [3]. IN THIS WAY, CDS/PBS THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS WITH LAYERS DEPOSITED BY MEANS OF CHEMICAL BATH DEPOSITION HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED BY SEVERAL AUTHORS, WHERE THEY HAVE OBTAINED GOOD EFFICIENCIES BETWEEN 0.44 % AND 4.85 % [3-6]. CURRENTLY, CHEMICAL BATH DEPOSITION (CBD) IS A LOW-COST, SCALABLE AND EASY TECHNIQUE TO SYNTHESIZE SEMICONDUCTOR THIN-FILMS [3-7]. NOW, IN BOTH SEMICONDUCTORS IT IS POSSIBLE TO MODIFY THEIR PROPERTIES BY INTRODUCING METALLIC DOPANTS INTO THEIR STRUCTURE, LIKE ITS BANDGAP VALUE AND ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY. IN THIS SENSE, DOPING WITH AL HAS BEEN REPORTED FOR CHEMICALLY-DEPOSITED CDS AND PBS FILMS SHOWING IN BOTH CASES AN IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND A MODIFICATION OF ITS BANDGAP ENERGY AND CRYSTALLITE SIZE [6-9]. MOREOVER, DIFFERENT OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES HAVE BEEN REPORTED RECENTLY USING CBD AL-DOPED CDS THIN FILMS [10-13].

THIS PAPER PRESENTS A PHOTOCHEMICAL SYNTHESIS METHOD FOR PRODUCING PURE CEO2 DEPOSITS AND CEO2 DEPOSITS LOADED WITH VARYING PROPORTIONS OF FE2O3. THE DEPOSITS WERE CALCINED AT 950 °C AND CHARACTERIZED STRUCTURALLY, COMPOSITIONALLY, AND MORPHOLOGICALLY USING XRD, XPS, SEM, FT-IR, AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY TECHNIQUES. CERIANITE AND HEMATITE PHASES WERE IDENTIFIED IN CEO2/FE2O3 SAMPLES, INDICATING HETEROGENEOUS SURFACE DEPOSITS. PHOTOCATALYTIC TESTING UNDER UV?VIS ILLUMINATION FOR 5 H DEMONSTRATED PROMISING RESULTS. FOR THE DEGRADATION OF BRIGHT GREEN DYE, EFFICIENCIES OF 78.9 % AND 90.1 % WERE ACHIEVED FOR PURE CEO2 AND CEO2 SAMPLES LOADED WITH 1.0 MOL% FE2O3, RESPECTIVELY. SIMILARLY, FOR OXYTETRACYCLINE DRUG DEGRADATION, PERFORMANCE RATES OF 35.3 % AND 67.0 % WERE OBSERVED FOR CEO2 AND CEO2 SAMPLES LOADED WITH 1.0 MOL% FE2O3, RESPECTIVELY. RECYCLABILITY TESTS SHOWED A GRADUAL DECLINE IN PHOTOCATALYTIC PERFORMANCE OVER SUCCESSIVE CYCLES DUE TO BY-PRODUCT ACCUMULATION CONTAMINATING THE CATALYST.

OPHIOSTOMA FUNGI PROMOTE THE OCCURRENCE OF BLUE STAIN IN CONIFEROUS WOOD, AFFECTING THE APPEARANCE WOOD PRODUCTS QUALITY. THUS, DIFFERENT CHEMICAL PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTED TO CONTROL THEM. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF THESE SAPSTAINING FUNGI, USING ALBINO STRAINS OF OPHIOSTOMA LOOKS LIKE A SUCCESSFULLY ALTERNATIVE TO BE APPLIED. HOWEVER, SOME OPHIOSTOMA STRAINS PRESENT A DIMORPHIC BEHAVIOR IN LIQUID CULTURE, WHICH MAKE THEM DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH. FUNGAL DIMORPHISM IS DEFINED AS AN ENVIRONMENTALLY AND CHEMICALLY CONTROLLED, REVERSIBLE TRANSFORMATION OF THE YEAST AND MYCELIA MORPHOLOGIES. IN THIS RESEARCH, A TWO LEVEL FACTORIAL DESIGN WAS APPLIED FOR EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF FOUR OPERATIVE VARIABLES ON ALBINO STRAIN PCF2A29 (OPHIOSTOMA PICEAE (MÜNCH) H. & P. SYD.) YEAST-LIKE GROWTH A COMPLEX LIQUID MEDIUM. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT INOCULUM SIZE, TEMPERATURE AND THEIR INTERACTION HAD A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON YEAST-LIKE GROWTH OF ALBINO STRAIN PCF2A29. THE MOST IMPORTANT EFFECT WAS INOCULUM SIZE. THIS FACTOR EXPLAINED 53% OF THE OBSERVED VARIABILITY. THE EFFECT OF INOCULUM SIZE ON YEAST-LIKE GROWTH, PHENOMENON THAT IS DESCRIBED IN THE O. PICEAE SPECIES BY THE FIRST TIME WITH THIS PAPER, WOULD BE ASSOCIATED TO QUORUM SENSING ACTIVITY.

BLUE STAIN IN PINUS RADIATA D. DON WOOD IS PREDOMINANTLY CAUSED BY OPHIOSTOMA GENUS FUNGI. STAINED WOOD CAUSES SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC LOSSES TO FORESTRY AND TIMBER INDUSTRIES. CURRENTLY, DIFFERENT CHEMICAL FUNGICIDES ARE USED TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF BLUE STAIN FUNGI. HOWEVER, RECENT REPORTS HAVE QUESTIONED THE ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS OF THESE FUNGICIDES. FOR THIS REASON, THE USE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL, IN PARTICULAR WITH ALBINO STRAINS OF THE OPHIOSTOMA GENUS, APPEARS TO BE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE AND A TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE ALTERNATIVE TO WORK WITH. THE POTENTIAL FIELD APPLICATION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WOULD USE A FORMULATION CONTAINING THE ALBINO FUNGUS-THE BIOACTIVE INGREDIENT- IN ITS YEAST LIKE FORM. HOWEVER, SOME OPHIOSTOMA STRAINS CULTURES PRESENT A MARKED FILAMENTOUS MORPHOLOGY IN LIQUID CULTURE MEDIUM, AFFECTING THE EFFICIENCY IN THE PRODUCTION OF THE BIOACTIVE INGREDIENT. THE HYPOTHESIS OF THIS WORK PRESUMED THE POSSIBILITY TO CONTROL THE MORPHOLOGY OF OPHIOSTOMA CULTURES, THROUGH THE MODIFICATION OF GROWTH CONDITIONS IN LIQUID MEDIUM. THE EFFECT OF INOCULUM SIZE, GROWTH TEMPERATURE AND AGITATION RATE ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF PCF2A29 OPHIOSTOMA PICEAE AND FLF1A55 OPHIOSTOMA FLOCCOSUM ALBINO STRAINS IN LIQUID CULTURE MEDIUM, WAS STUDIED. A 23 FACTORIAL DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE INITIAL INOCULUM SIZE HAD A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON YEAST-LIKE GROWTH MORPHOLOGY IN BOTH STRAINS, WHEREAS THE TEMPERATURE ONLY PRODUCED A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT IN PCF2A29 O. PICEAE STRAIN.

IN THE FINAL PROCESS OF THE BLEACHED KRAFT PULP THERE ARE SOME CELLULOSE FIBERS THAT ARE SEPARATED FROM THE MAIN FIBERS STREAM; THESE FIBERS ARE REJECTED AND CONSIDERED AS A LOW QUALITY FIBERS, THESE FIBERS ARE KNOWN AS REJECTED FIBER (RF). IN THE PRESENT WORK THE POTENTIAL USE OF THESE FIBERS FOR CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNCS) SYNTHESIS WAS STUDIED. THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SYNTHESIZED CNCS WERE CHARACTERIZED THROUGH DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES SUCH AS ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY (AFM), SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY (SEM), X-RAY DIFFRACTION (XRD), FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY (FTIR), AND THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS (TGA). RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF CNCS SYNTHESIS WITH A YIELD OF 28.1% AND 36.9%, AND CRYSTALLINITY OF 73.5% AND 82.7%. FINALLY, THE MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTHESIS CONDITIONS SUGGEST THAT THIS INDUSTRIAL REJECT FIBER (RF) COULD BE USED AS A SOURCE FOR THE CNCS PRODUCTION, THUS ADDING VALUE TO THE KRAFT PROCESS AND OPENING NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR INNOVATION IN THE PULP INDUSTRY.

THE NONPROTEIN AMINO ACID LEVO-3,4-DIHYDROXYPHENYLALANINE (L-DOPA) HAS INSECTICIDAL, ALLELOCHEMICAL, AND ANTIPARKINSONIAN EFFECTS. THE AIM OF THIS RESEARCH WAS TO ASSESS L-DOPA CONTENT IN DIFFERENT TISSUES OF VICIA FABA (CV. SUPER AGUA DULCE), AND TO VERIFY IF TREATMENT WITH THE PHENOLIC AMINO ACID L-4-HYDROXYPHENYLALANINE (TYROSINE) HAD AN EFFECT ON SUCH CONTENT. UNDER LIGHT GERMINATION, CONTROL AND TYROSINE-TREATED EARLY SEEDLING STAGES OF V. FABA WERE STUDIED AND L-DOPA WAS QUANTIFIED SPECTROPHOTOMETRICALLY (ARNOW?S METHOD) AND BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPTLC), AS WELL. ADDITIONALLY, TYROSINASE (TYROX) AND GUAIACOL PEROXIDASE (GPX) ACTIVITIES (CONSIDERED MARKERS OF A PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS METABOLISM) WERE QUANTIFIED AS GERMINATION PROCEEDED. DIFFERENT ORGANS (ROOTS, SPROUTS, AND SEEDS) AND DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES WERE CONSIDERED. STEADY HIGH L-DOPA CONCENTRATIONS WERE FOUND IN UNTREATED SPROUTS AND ROOTS COMPARED TO SEEDS, AS TIME PROGRESSED. WHILE TYROX ACTIVITY WAS NOT DETECTED IN THESE EXPERIMENTS, GPX HAD DIVERSE TRENDS. IN CONTROL TISSUES, GPX INCREASED IN SEED TISSUE AS GERMINATION PROGRESSED, WHEREAS IN ROOTS AND SPROUTS, A DECREASING GPX ACTIVITY WAS OBSERVED. TYROSINE EXPOSURE DECREASED L-DOPA CONTENT, AND DECREASED OR DID NOT CHANGE GPX ACTIVITY (DEPENDING ON THE ORGAN). BOTH ARNOW?S AND HPTLC METHODS WERE CONSISTENT IN TERMS OF TENDENCIES, EXCEPT FOR THE SCARCE CONTENTS FOUND IN SEEDS, IN WHICH HPTLC WAS MORE SENSITIVE. THE RICHEST SOURCE OF L-DOPA WAS FOUND IN SHOOTS (UNTREATED), REACHING AS HIGH AS 125 MG G?1 DW (12% IN DW) (THE HIGHEST CONTENT REPORTED IN FAVA BEAN SEEDLINGS UNTIL NOW), WHEREAS THE SMALLEST L-DOPA CONTENT WAS FOUND IN SEEDS. THE IMPORTANCE OF LIGHT GERMINATION CONDITIONS IS DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF L-DOPA YIELD AND FROM A PHYSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT V. FABA (CV. SUPER AGUA DULCE) SHOOTS ARE A GOOD SOURCE OF L-DOPA AND THAT TYROSINE ADDITION (0.55 MM) DECREASES L-DOPA CONTENT IN ACTIVELY GROW

A RAPID, SENSITIVE, PRECISE AND ACCURATE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY (LC-MS/MS) METHOD WAS DEVELOPED FOR LEVO 3,4-DIHYDROXYPHENYLALANINE (L-DOPA) DETERMINATION IN VICIA FABA DURING DIFFERENT GROWTH STAGES. THE METHOD APPLIED A SIMPLE SAMPLE PREPARATION STEP FOLLOWED BY A CHROMATOGRAPHIC SEPARATION ON A KINETEX XB CORE-SHELL C18 (100 MM X 4.6 MM, 2.6 ?M) COLUMN, USING A MIXTURE OF ULTRAPURE PURE WATER (A) WITH 0.5 % (V/V) FORMIC ACID AND METHANOL (B) AS MOBILE PHASE. ANALYSIS OF L-DOPA WAS CARRIED OUT BY MS/MS APPLYING A MULTIPLE REACTION MONITORING (MRM) METHOD USING THE TRANSITION M/Z 198 ? M/Z 152. THIS LC-MS/MS METHOD ALLOWED A WELL-RESOLVED DETECTION OF L-DOPA IN CA. 2 MIN WITHIN 6 MIN RUN. METHOD WAS VALIDATED SHOWING A LINEAR RANGE FROM 0.05 TO 10 MG L-1 (R2 = 0.99); REPEATABILITY SHOWED RSD VALUE OF 1.40%. RECOVERIES RANGED FROM 94.14 TO 116.62% WITH RSD VALUES ? 5.66% AND DETECTION AND QUANTIFICATION LIMITS WERE 0.01 AND 0.05 MG L-1, RESPECTIVELY. APPLYING THIS VALIDATED METHOD, L-DOPA WAS DETERMINED IN VICIA FABA SAMPLES TO DETERMINED ITS TISSUE DISTRIBUTION. AS EXPECTED, A BROAD RANGE OF L-DOPA CONTENT FINDING THE LOWEST CONTENT IN SEEDS (4.72±2.12 MG G-1) AND THE HIGHEST IN SPROUTS (133.60±5.65 MG G-1).

TIMBER AND WOOD-BASED MATERIALS ARE CONSIDERED SUSTAINABLE BUILDING MATERIALS; HOWEVER, AS THEY ARE PRONE TO DEGRADATION BY BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS, THEY OFTEN REQUIRED THE ADDITION OF PROTECTING COATINGS. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE PREFERRED OPTIONS ARE WATERBORNE COATINGS SINCE THEY ARE NON-AGGRESSIVE SOLVENTS (ODOR, TOXICITY, FIRE RISK) AND ULTIMATELY ELIMINATE THE EMISSION OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS). NOTWITHSTANDING, THESE REDUCTIONS IMPLY LOWER DURABILITY AND PROTECTION AS COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL ORGANIC COATINGS. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT INCORPORATING NANOCELLULOSE PRODUCED FROM BLUEBERRY PRUNING RESIDUES AND TITANIUM DIOXIDE AND SILICA DIOXIDE NPS INTO WATERBORNE VARNISHES CAN IMPROVE WOODEN SURFACES MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY. PARTICULARLY THE ADHESION AND ABRASION PROPERTIES ARE ENHANCED WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN OTHER PROPERTIES SUCH AS OPTICAL TRANSPARENCY, COLOR, AND COATING GLOSS. THESE RESULTS PRESENT A PROMISING POTENTIAL FOR DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPING PRODUCTS FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN FURNITURE, FLOORS, AND WOOD PANELING.

THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS ARE SALTWATER HETEROTROPHIC PROTISTS, WHOSE MAIN ECOLOGICAL ROLE IS ORGANIC MATTER DECOMPOSITION. THESE PROTISTS HAVE GAINED NOTORIETY IN BIOTECHNOLOGY, MAINLY FOR THEIR ABILITY TO ACCUMULATE LIPIDS WITH HIGH COMMERCIAL VALUE SUCH AS SQUALENE, CAROTENOIDS AND POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, ESPECIALLY DOCOSAHEXAENOIC ACID. RESEARCH ON THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS HAS BEEN ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY FOCUSED ON CULTURE OPTIMIZATION FOR LIPID OBTENTION. CONSIDERING THEIR ECOLOGICAL ROLE, AN ENORMOUS POTENTIAL IN BIOREMEDIATION MAY NOT HAVE BEEN FULLY EXPLORED. THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS CAN TOLERATE, METABOLIZE, ADSORB AND DEGRADE SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, EVEN VERY RECALCITRANT ONES LIKE TAR BALLS OR AROMATIC COMPOUNDS. ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS EVIDENCE OF THEIR ABILITY TO METABOLIZE A WIDE ARRAY OF SUBSTRATES. SEVERAL DEGRADING ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES WITH INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS HAVE ALSO BEEN DESCRIBED. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO SYSTEMATIZE PUBLISHED DATA ON THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS REGARDING BIOREMEDIATION, HIGHLIGHTING THEIR POTENTIAL IN WASTE TREATMENT AND REVALORIZATION AS THEY REPRESENT A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY WITHIN A BIOREFINERY APPROACH.

QUORUM SENSING (QS) ACTIVITY IN OPHIOSTOMA FUNGI HAS NOT BEEN DESCRIBED. WE HAVE EXAMINED THE GROWTH CONDITIONS ON THE CONTROL OF DIMORPHISM IN OPHIOSTOMA FLOCCOSUM, AN ATTRACTIVE BIOCONTROL AGENT AGAINST BLUE-STAIN FUNGI, AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH QS ACTIVITY. IN A DEFINED CULTURE MEDIUM WITH L-PROLINE AS THE N SOURCE, A HIGH INOCULUM SIZE (10(7) C.F.U. ML(-1)) WAS THE PRINCIPAL FACTOR THAT PROMOTED YEAST-LIKE GROWTH. INOCULUM SIZE EFFECT CAN BE EXPLAINED BY THE SECRETION OF A QS MOLECULE(S) (QSMS) RESPONSIBLE FOR INDUCING YEAST MORPHOLOGY. QSM CANDIDATES WERE EXTRACTED FROM SPENT MEDIUM AND THEIR STRUCTURE WAS DETERMINED BY GC-MS. THREE CYCLIC SESQUITERPENES WERE FOUND. THE MOST ABUNDANT MOLECULE, AND THEREFORE THE PRINCIPAL CANDIDATE TO BE THE QSM RESPONSIBLE FOR YEAST GROWTH OF O. FLOCCOSUM, WAS 1,1,4A-TRIMETHYL-5,6-DIMETHYLENE-DECALIN (C15H24). OTHER TWO COMPOUNDS WERE ALSO DETECTED.

FOR OPHIOSTOMA (CERATOCYSTIS) ULMI, THE ABILITY TO UNDERGO MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE IS A CRUCIAL FACTOR FOR ITS VIRULENCE. TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF QUORUM-SENSING ACTIVITY IN O. ULMI AS IT RELATES TO YEAST-MYCELIUM DIMORPHISM CONTROL, THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE EFFECTS OF BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS AS WELL AS THEIR FUSEL ALCOHOLS AND FUSEL ACIDS AS QUORUM SENSING MOLECULES. METHODS AND RESULTS: IN A DEFINED MEDIUM CONTAINING GLUCOSE, PROLINE AND SALTS, O. ULMI GREW AS YEASTS WHEN THE CULTURE WAS INOCULATED WITH A HIGH DENSITY OF SPORES (2 × 10(7) CFU ML(-1) ) AND AS MYCELIA WHEN INOCULATED WITH A LOW SPORE DENSITY (4 × 10(5) CFU ML(-1) ). THE CULTURES DISPLAYING YEAST MORPHOLOGY SECRETED A QUORUM-SENSING FACTOR THAT SHIFTED THE MORPHOLOGY FROM MYCELIA TO YEAST. THIS QUORUM-SENSING MOLECULE WAS LIPOPHILIC AND EXTRACTABLE BY ORGANIC SOLVENTS FROM THE SPENT MEDIUM. USING GC/MS ANALYSIS, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE MAJOR COMPOUND IN THE EXTRACT WAS 2-METHYL-1-BUTANOL. A SIMILAR EFFECT WAS OBSERVED WHEN THE BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS (FUSEL ALCOHOL PRECURSORS) WERE USED AS THE NITROGEN SOURCE. E, E-FARNESOL HAD NO EFFECT ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF O. ULMI. CONCLUSIONS: ADDITION OF THE BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACIDS OR ONE OF THE COMPOUNDS DETECTED IN THE SPENT MEDIUM, 2-METHYL-1-BUTANOL OR 4-HYDROXYPHENYLACETIC ACID, OR METHYLVALERIC ACID, DECREASED GERM TUBE FORMATION BY MORE THAN 50%, THUS DEMONSTRATING A QUORUM SENSING MOLECULE BEHAVIOUR IN O. ULMI CULTURES. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: THIS STUDY PRESENTS ADVANCES IN THE INVESTIGATION OF DIMORPHISM IN O. ULMI, COMPLEMENTING THE EXISTING SCIENTIFIC BASIS, FOR STUDYING, UNDERSTANDING AND CONTROLLING THIS PHENOMENON.

RADIATA PINE IS THE MAIN WOOD SPECIES USED IN THE CHILEAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, BUT IT MUST BE PROTECTED DUE TO ITS LOW NATURAL DURABILITY. CHEMICAL PROTECTION OF WOOD BY IMPREGNATION ALLOWS FOR A MORE EFFICIENT UTILIZATION OF THE FOREST RESOURCES BY EXTENDING ITS USEFUL LIFE. THE USE OF NANOPARTICLES IN WOOD PROTECTION HAS GARNERED GREAT INTEREST DURING THE LAST DECADE, DUE TO THEIR UNIQUE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES, DIFFERENT FROM THOSE OF LARGER SIZED MATERIALS. IN THIS RESEARCH, THE IMPREGNATION OF RADIATA PINE WOOD WITH COPPER NANOPARTICLES (CUNP) WAS STUDIED IN TERMS OF RETENTION, PENETRATION, LEACHING, AND ITS PROTECTIVE EFFECT AGAINST WOOD ROT FUNGI GROWTH ACCORDING TO EN 113, AWPA A3-91, A9-18, AND E11-16. PENETRATION ANALYSIS CONFIRMED A UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION ACROSS THE WOOD, WITH TOTAL PENETRATION IN THE IMPREGNATED SAMPLES WITH THE HIGHEST CONCENTRATION SOLUTION OF CUNP. RETENTION VALUES OF THE IMPREGNATED WOOD INCREASED PROPORTIONALLY WITH THE CONCENTRATION OF NANOPARTICLES EVALUATED BY EDXRF. LEACHING ANALYSIS SHOWED COPPER REMOVAL DURING THE FIRST HOURS OF THE TEST, WITH A CONSTANT LEACHING RATE UP TO 144 H. IMPREGNATED WOOD MASS LOSS (ML) DUE TO EXPOSURE TO GLOEOPHYLLUM TRABEUM AND RHODONIA PLACENTA FUNGI WERE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED REGARDLESS OF THE CUNP CONCENTRATION OR FUNGI TESTED, WITH AN ML SMALLER THAN 5% AND SMALLER THAN 14% FOR LEACHED SAMPLES.

KRAFT PULP CELLULOSE WAS HYDROLYZED USING SULFURIC ACID, UNDER DIFFERENT THERMOPHYSICAL CONDITIONS OF TEMPERATURE, TIME, PULP CONCENTRATION, AND SONICATION TIME. THE EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN REVEALED THE EFFECT OF THESE CONDITIONS AND THEIR INTERACTION ON THE HYDROLYSIS YIELD OBTAINED. IN ADDITION, THE TOP FIVE CELLULOSE NANOCRYSTALS (CNCS) YIELDS FROM THIS EXPERIMENT DESIGN WERE ANALYZED. THE RESULTS OBTAINED INDICATED THAT CNCS POSSESS A MORPHOLOGY THAT CAN BE DESCRIBED AS INDIVIDUALIZED ROD PARTICLES, WITH AVERAGE DIAMETERS LESS THAN 50 NM AND DIFFERENT SIZE DISTRIBUTION. IN THE ANALYSIS OF CNCS FEATURES, SIGNIFICANT PEARSON CORRELATIONS WERE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THE CRYSTALLINITY OF THE CNC, CNC YIELD, AND INTERPLANAR CRYSTALLITES DISTANCE (?D/D). THE THERMOGRAVIMETRIC (DTG) PROFILES EXHIBITED TWO CNCS DEGRADATION STAGES, WHERE THE SECOND STAGE CNCS DEGRADATION SHOWED A SIGNIFICATIVE CORRELATION WITH CNC SULFUR CONTENT. IN OUR ANALYSIS, THE CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC PARAMETERS EXHIBITED A CORRELATION WITH THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF THE CNC, SINCE THE POTENTIAL VARIATION BETWEEN THE DISTANCES OF THE CRYSTALLINE PLANES IS RELATED TO THE STRESS AND DEFORMATION PRESENT IN THE CRYSTALLITES OF CNCS. THIS STUDY PROVIDES NEW KNOWLEDGE REGARDING CNCS, FURTHER ENHANCING INFORMATION FOR CNC-BASED INDUSTRIES AND THE PROCESSABILITY OF CNCS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MATERIALS.

THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS ARE UNICELLULAR HETEROTROPHIC MARINE PROTISTS THAT HAVE BEEN DESCRIBED AS PRODUCING A HIGH CONTENT OF POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFAS). AMONG THEM, ARACHIDONIC ACID (ARA) STANDS OUT AS A PRECURSOR OF SEVERAL MEDIATORS OF PIVOTAL IMPORTANCE FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM. HOWEVER, THE BIOTECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF THRAUSTOCHYTRIDS FOR ARA PRODUCTION HAS NOT BEEN DEVELOPED. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY IS TO ISOLATE AND IDENTIFY NATIVE STRAINS FROM DIFFERENT CHILEAN COASTAL ENVIRONMENTS AND EVALUATE IN VITRO THE EFFECT OF CULTURE PARAMETERS SUCH AS C/N RATIO (19 AND 33) AND TEMPERATURE (15 °C AND 23 °C) ON BIOMASS PRODUCTION AND ARACHIDONIC ACID CONTENT. A TOTAL OF NINE STRAINS WERE IDENTIFIED AND CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR GENERA OF THE THRAUSTOCHITRIDAE FAMILY. THE LNG2 STRAIN WITH 99% IDENTITY BELONGS TO THE SPECIES ULKENIA VISURGENIS AND WAS THE MOST PROMINENT ONE FOR ARA PRODUCTION. TEMPERATURE HAD AN EFFECT ON THE PUFA PROFILE BUT NOT ON THE ARA CONTENT NOR ON THE BIOMASS YIELD. ADDITIONALLY, THE C/N RATIO HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A KEY PARAMETER. THE ARA PRODUCTIVITY INCREASED BY 92% (FROM 0.6 TO 8.3 ARA MG/G-DW) AND ITS TOTAL BIOMASS BY 62.7% (FROM 1.9 TO 5.1 G/L) AT A HIGH C/N RATIO (33) AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROL.