To quantify psychoactive drug use and investigate use-related variables among students of Assis, Brazil, a questionnaire was administered to collect sociodemographic data and identify the pattern of non-medical use of psychoactive drugs in 20% of public and private school students. The largest consumption indexes for lifetime use were seen for alcohol (68.9%) and tobacco (22.7%). Drugs most often used were: solvents (10.0%); marijuana (6.6%); benzodiazepines (3.8%); amphetamines (2.6%); cocaine (1.6%); and anticholinergics (1.0%).

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Different concentrations of sucrose (3-25% w/v) and peptone (2-5% w/v) were studied in the formulation of media during the cultivation of Aspergillus japonicus-FCL 119T and Aspergillus niger ATCC 20611. Moreover, cane molasses (3.5-17.5% w/v total sugar) and yeast powder (1.5-5% w/v) were used as alternative nutrients for both strains' cultivation. These media were formulated for analysis of cellular growth, beta-Fructosyltransferase and Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) production. Transfructosylating activity (U ( t )) and FOS production were analyzed by HPLC. The highest enzyme production by both the strains was 3% (w/v) sucrose and 3% (w/v) peptone, or 3.5% (w/v) total sugars present in cane molasses and 1.5% (w/v) yeast powder. Cane molasses and yeast powder were as good as sucrose and peptone in the enzyme and FOS (around 60% w/w) production by studied strains.

A strain of Aspergillus niger isolated from soil samples showed great capacity to produce extracellular inulinase. Although the enzyme has been synthesized in presence of monosaccharides, sucrose and sugar cane molasse, the productivity was significantly higher (p<0.05) when the microorganism was inoculated in media formulated with dahlia extract and pure inulin, as carbon sources. With regard to the nitrogen source, the best results were obtained with casein and other sources of proteic nitrogen, comparatively to the mineral nitrogen. However, statistic significance (p<0.01) only was found between the productivity obtained in the medium prepared with casein and ammonium sulphate. The optimum pH of the purified enzyme for inulin hydrolysis was found between 4.0 and 4.5 and the optimun temperature at 60oC. When treated by 30 minutes in this temperature no loss of activity was observed. The enzyme showed capacity to hydrolyse sucrose, raffinose and inulin from which it liberated only fructose units showing, therefore, an exo-action mechanism. Acting on inulins from several sources, the enzyme showed larger hydrolysis speed on the polissaccharide from chicory (Cichorium intibus), comparatively, to the inulins from dahlia (Dahlia pinnata) and Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) roots.

Several microorganisms isolated from soil enriched with soybean meal were screened for their ability to produce cu--galactosidase (a-D-galactoside galactohydrolase, E.C. 3.2.1.22). Soybean carbohydrates, after fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were used as carbon source for an effective screening. Fructose-free soy oligosaccharides were effective as inducers of the enzyme whereas normal soy oligosaccharides, including sucrose, were not. With this carbon source, invertase production was insignificant and the enzymes present liberated galactose from oligosaccharides known to be present in soybeans. Among the microorganisms studied, Cladosporium cladosporioides (Fres.) de Vr. had the highest or-galactosidase activity. The intracellular enzyme had an optimum pH around 7.0 on the artificial substrate p-nitrophenyl+D-galactopyranoside (PNPG) but a pH optimum of 5.0 with melibiose. At 6.3 (the natural pH of soymilk) the relative activity on the two substrates was 90%. The enzyme was relatively thermostable, with no detectable decrease in activity when held for more than 16 hr at 47°C or 2 hr at 6O'C. The enzyme liberated galactose from melibiose, raffiiose, and stachyose and eliminated raffinose-like sugars from soymilk, specially stachyose, in a few hours.