Highlights d Th1-Th2 cross-regulation impacts early Leishmania skin infection via monocyte recruitment d STAT6 reduces monocyte recruitment via IFN-g but controls phagocyte activation via IL-10 d Infected monocytes attain an alternatively activated PDL2+phenotype in a Th1 environment d Th2 immunity does not facilitate pathogen replication on a per cell basis

This work was performed to verify the potential of yeast strains isolated from cachaça distilleries for two specific biotechnological applications: beer and bioethanol production. In the beer production, the strains were tested for characteristics required in brewery practices, such as: capacity to ferment maltose and maltotriose, ability to grow at lowest temperatures, low HS production, and flocculation profile. Among the strains tested, two of them showed appropriate characteristics to produce two different beer styles: lager and ale. Moreover, both strains were tested for cachaça production and the results confirmed the capacity of these strains to improve the quality of cachaça. In the bioethanol production, the fermentation process was performed similarly to that used by bioethanol industries: recycling of yeast biomass in the fermentative process with sulfuric acid washings (pH 2.0). The production of ethanol, glycerol, organic acids, dry cell weight, carbohydrate consumption, and cellular viability were analyzed. One strain presented fermentative parameters similar to PE2, industrial/commercial strain, with equivalent ethanol yields and cellular viability during all fermentative cycles. This work demonstrates that cachaça distilleries seem to be an interesting environment to select new yeast strains to be used in biotechnology applications as beer and bioethanol production.

A sustainable option for nitrogen removal is the anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) process in which ammonium is oxidized to nitrogen gas with nitrite as electron acceptor. Application of this process, however, is limited by the availability of anammox biomass. In this study, two Brocadia-like anammox phylotypes were successfully enriched, detected and identified from an activated sludge taken from a domestic wastewater treatment plant (Minas Gerais, Brazil) employing a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). The dominant phylotype was closely related to 'Candidatus Brocadia sinica', but one clone seemed to represent a novel species for which we propose the name 'Candidatus Brocadia brasiliensis'. Based on Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, this enrichment led to a relative population size of 52.7% (±15.6) anammox bacteria after 6 months of cultivation. The cultivation process can be divided into three phases: phase 1 (approximately 25 days) was characterized by heterotrophic denitrification metabolism, phase 2 was the propagation phase and phase 3 (from the 87th day onwards), in which significant anammox activity was detected. A long-term performance of the SBR showed a near perfect removal of nitrite based on the influent NO(2)(-)-N concentration of 61-95 mg L(-1). The average ammonia removal efficiency was 90% with the influent NH(4)(+)-N concentration of 55-82 mg L(-1). Therefore, anammox cultivation and enrichment from activated sludge was possible under a controlled environment within 3 months.

The current study evaluated the removal of six micro pollutants (Estrone (E1); 17β-estradiol (E2); 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2); Ibuprofen (IBP), Diclofenac (DCF) and Paracetamol (PCT)) from the final effluent of an activated sludge domestic sewage treatment plant using polishing filters. Four polishing filters were assembled as columns and filled with a mixture of sand and vermiculite, sand and charcoal, sand and granulated activated carbon (9:1 by volume) and sand only. The column filters were placed near the outlet of a full-scale activated sludge treatment plant and were fed with a treated effluent containing from 4.71 ng/L to 28.93 ng/L of the target compounds at a hydraulic loading rate (HLR) of 50 m³.m -2 .d -1 . Samples were collected periodically from the influent (biologically treated sewage) and effluent of the four columns and analysed for estrogens, anti-inflammatories and analgesic compounds. Liquid samples were submitted to a solid phase extraction (SPE) and analysed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry after their derivatization. Among the compounds found, Diclofenac was distinguished by the high ocurrence of detection in the samples (85%) and higher mean concentration (~17ng.L -1 ). High removal efficiency (>90%) of the estrogens was observed in the polishing systems studied, whilst for the other targets, the removal efficiency varied from 10% to 30%. Observe that the compounds concentrations were low, maybe this fact is because the rainfall in the collect period.