Ministry of Agriculture

About: Ministry of Agriculture is a government organization based out in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Biology & Chemistry. The organization has 1153 authors who have published 1189 publications receiving 14442 citations.

The influence of different yeasts on the fermentation, composition and sensory quality of cachaça.

Abstract: Cachaca (sugarcane wine) was produced using different yeast strains, six being strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and one each of Candida apicola, Hanseniaspora occidentalis, Pichia subpelliculosa and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The ethanol yields (%) of the non-Saccharomyces strains were similar to those of the Saccharomyces strains. The following determinations were carried out on the cachaca: acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, propanol, isobutyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, volatile acidity. The cachacas showed variations in the levels of secondary compounds, but these variations did not result in differences (P ≤ 0.05) in the sensory attributes of aroma and flavour and overall impression. Of the volatile compounds quantified in the cachacas, only propanol showed a positive correlation (P ≤ 0.05) with the flavour attributes and overall impression. The S. pombe strain was considered inadequate for the production of cachaca. The cachacas were classified into five groups in an exploratory Hierarchical Cluster Analysis as a function of the volatile compounds. Principal Component Analysis showed that 93% of the variation (PC 1) occurred among the samples, and was explained by the individual volatile compounds and the total secondary compounds, with the exception of isoamyl alcohol only 7% (PC 2) was associated with the volatile acidity. The negative correlations shown between the volatile compounds of the cachacas and the ethanol content of the sugarcane wine, with the exception of acetaldehyde, showed that the variation in ethanol content of the sugarcane wine is an important factor for standardization of the ethanol/volatiles ratio and the beverage quality.

Removal of ammonia nitrogen from distilled old landfill leachate by adsorption on raw and modified aluminosilicate

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the ammonia–nitrogen removal by aluminosilicates, using both standard solutions as pretreated landfill leachate. Three types of commercial clays and one commercial zeolite were initially tested using standard solution; however, only one clay with the best removability and the zeolite were tested with pretreated leachate. The chosen clay sorption capacity with the standard solution reached 83%, while with the pretreated leachate solution has reached 95% and zeolites have reached, respectively, a removal of 73% and 81%. For this two adsorbents’ studies of equilibrium and kinetic of the sorption were also performed. The Langmuir model was more adequate to describe the ion exchange equilibrium and the sorption mechanism fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Moreover, the pretreatment used on leachate proved to be essential not only for ammonium detection in solution, but also to facilitate its sorption in aluminosilicates. This alternative of ammonia–nitrogen removal ...

Clinicopathologic Features of Experimental Clostridium perfringens Type D Enterotoxemia in Cattle

Abstract: This study was designed to experimentally reproduce enterotoxemia by Clostridium perfringens type D in cattle and to characterize the clinicopathologic findings of this disease. Fourteen 9-month-old calves were inoculated intraduodenally according to the following schedule: group 1 (n 5 4), C. perfringens type D whole culture; group 2 (n 5 3), C. perfringens type D washed cells; group 3 (n 5 5), C. perfringens type D filtered and concentrated supernatant; group 4 (n 5 2), sterile, nontoxic culture medium. In addition, all animals received a 20% starch solution in the abomasum. Ten animals from groups 1 (4/4), 2 (3/3), and 3 (3/5) showed severe respiratory and neurologic signs. Gross findings were observed in these 10 animals and consisted of acute pulmonary edema, excessive protein-rich pericardial fluid, watery contents in the small intestine, and multifocal petechial hemorrhages on the jejunal mucosa. The brain of one animal of group 2 that survived for 8 days showed multifocal, bilateral, and symmetric encephalomalacia in the corpus striatum. The most striking histologic changes consisted of perivascular high protein edema in the brain, and alveolar and interstitial proteinaceous pulmonary edema. The animal that survived for 8 days and that had gross lesions in the corpus striatum showed histologically severe, focal necrosis of this area, cerebellar peduncles, and thalamus. Koch's postulates have been met and these results show that experimental enterotoxemia by C. perfringens type D in cattle has similar clinical and pathologic characteristics to the natural and experimental disease in sheep.