A new ROV storage device for deep-sea sampling.

Sampling deep-sea biota is a significant challenge because of the logistics required, in terms of vessels and equipment, to obtain minimally preserved specimens. Traditional methods (trawls, nets, and dredges) cause physical damage, stress, and even contamination during the process of removal from the seabed and their displacement through the water column to the surface. Preserving conditions similar to those found in situ is particularly important when the sampling strives to maintain living organisms and for analyses where contamination or degradation by stress or damage may interfere with the results.

Evaluation of toxicity and estrogenicity in UASB - Treated municipal sewage.

This study was undertaken to assess the capacity of the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, one of the most commonly used systems in Brazilian sewage treatment plants, to remove municipal sewage toxicity using different Danio rerio life stages (embryo, embryo-larval, larval, adult), and estrogenicity using in vitro (yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in vivo (vitellogenin induction in D. rerio) assays. Sensitivity of chronic fish assays were compared to the chronic Ceriodaphnia dubia assay.

Microbiota associated with tubes of Escarpia sp. from cold seeps in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean constitutes a community distinct from that of surrounding marine sediment and water.

As the depth increases and the light fades in oceanic cold seeps, a variety of chemosynthetic-based benthic communities arise. Previous assessments reported polychaete annelids belonging to the family Siboglinidae as part of the fauna at cold seeps, with the 'Vestimentifera' clade containing specialists that depend on microbial chemosynthetic endosymbionts for nutrition. Little information exists concerning the microbiota of the external portion of the vestimentiferan trunk wall.

Study of Soybean Oil Hydrolysis Catalyzed by Thermomyces lanuginosus Lipase and Its Application to Biodiesel Production via Hydroesterification.

The process of biodiesel production by the hydroesterification route that is proposed here involves a first step consisting of triacylglyceride hydrolysis catalyzed by lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TL 100L) to generate free fatty acids (FFAs). This step is followed by esterification of the FFAs with alcohol, catalyzed by niobic acid in pellets or without a catalyst. The best result for the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis was obtained under reaction conditions of 50% (v/v) soybean oil and 2.