No abstract

In recent years, there has been an increase in pesticide use to improve crop production due to the growth of agricultural activities. Consequently, various pesticides have been present in the environment for an extended period of time. This review presents a general description of recent advances in the development of methods for the quantification of pesticides used in agricultural activities. Current advances focus on improving sensitivity and selectivity through the use of nanomaterials in both sensor assemblies and new biosensors. In this study, we summarize the electrochemical, optical, nano-colorimetric, piezoelectric, chemo-luminescent and fluorescent techniques related to the determination of agricultural pesticides. A brief description of each method and its applications, detection limit, purpose—which is to efficiently determine pesticides—cost and precision are considered. The main crops that are assessed in this study are bananas, although other fruits and vegetables contaminated with pesticides are also mentioned. While many studies have assessed biosensors for the determination of pesticides, the research in this area needs to be expanded to allow for a balance between agricultural activities and environmental protection.

No abstract

No abstract

Trametes versicolor and Pleurotus ostreatus were used for the biopulping from pineapple leaf fiber (PALF). PALF substrate was subjected to T. versicolor for 2 to 6 weeks and to P. ostreatus for 4 to 8 weeks. The yields, holocellulose and lignin contents, and extractives in ethanol-toluene mixture and in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution were evaluated. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and color studies by L*a*b* systems were used for sample analysis. The results showed that the pulp yield was 55% to 70% with P. ostreatus and 35% to 50% with T. versicolor. Longer colonization periods increased the amount of holocellulose and decreased the amount of lignin and extractives in ethanol-toluene and NaOH solution. TGA showed an increase in intensity associated with cellulose, and the observed inflexion was attributed to lignin, which showed a tendency to fade. The FTIR spectrum showed high intensity between 3100 cm -1 and 3600 cm -1(cellulose) and decreased intensity at 1730 cm -1 (lignin). For both fungi, the pulp color produced an increase in L* color parameter and decreased in yellowness, while little variation was observed in redness. The most appropriate colonization period was 5 weeks for P. ostreatus and 4 weeks for T. versicolor.