The Parnaíba Basin covers an area of 665,888 km2 between the northern and northeastern regions of Brazil. It is completely made up of siliciclastic sedimentary and volcanic rocks with ages varying between the Silurian and the Cretaceous. Among the formations of the Basin, the Tianguá Formation is considered a potential source rock. However, there are few geochemical and/or geological studies and no research work on the molecular parameters of the organic matter (OM) present in its outcropping rocks (OR). Thus, the objective of the present work is to characterize the OM, concerning the depositional paleoenvironment and the degree of thermal evolution, through molecular parameters and OM content. The OM was extracted using the Soxhlet system, chromatographed by classical methods, and analyzed using GC-MS and GC-MS/MS. The samples exhibited low total organic carbon values (TOC < 1) and the molecular parameters of saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons suggested a marine depositional environment, with algae, bacteria, and terrestrial plants input. The C30 biomarkers (24-n-propylcholestane), identified using synthetic standards and usually associated with the Chrysophyte algae, corroborated the marine origin of the depositional environment. In addition, some molecular parameters suggested little thermal evolution.

Aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) thin films were synthesized on glass substrates by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering from a metallic Zn-Al (5 at. %) target at room temperature. The morphological, structural, electrical and optical properties of the films were studied as a function of the sputtering pressure, which was varied from 0.1 to 6.7 Pa. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses revealed that the films obtained were polycrystalline, having a hexagonal wurtzite structure with a preferential orientation in the (002) plane. In addition, the crystallite size increased as a function of sputtering pressure. Owing to the re-sputtering of the Zn atoms from the growing film, the aluminum concentration presented a maximum value of 13 at. %. At pressures close to 0.16 Pa, we obtained films with values of electrical resistivity and mobility of 2.8 10-3 Ω cm and 17 cm2/Vs, respectively. Finally, our results indicate that the structure zone diagram proposed by Thornton and later modified by Kluth does not fully predict the structural/morphological behavior of the AZO films, since plasma interactions must also be taken into account. With the methodology used, transparent conductive electrodes can be deposited on substrates at low temperatures.

We propose a practical, low-cost and selective fluorescence-based protocol adapted to identify polyethylene terephthalate (PET) degrading microorganisms. The microbial hydrolysis of PET nanoparticles was monitored by 2-hydroxyterephthalate, a fluorophore produced in situ after radical hydroxylation of terephthalic acid (TPA), the final hydrolysis product, by the Fenton reaction. Seven fungi presenting promising PET hydrolytic potential using the proposed microscale screening assay were identified. The strains evaluated presented a substantial increase of up to 18-fold in PET nanoparticles conversion, such as obtained by the fungus Trichoderma sp. C70, after their cultivation in a PET-enriched medium. The formation of other hydrolysis products, along with TPA, was observed using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

The simultaneous screening of multiple enzyme activities in a single assay has numerous advantages over the traditional format, since it decreases sampling errors, allows savings in reagents and consumables and reduces the time and labor required to conduct the assays. In the present study, a direct and sensitive assay for the simultaneous detection of epoxide hydrolase and esterase (or lipase) activities was developed. Signal overlap is avoided by synthesizing fluorogenic probes with enzyme-specific alkyl linkers, connected to different fluorophores (resorfurin and umbelliferone), which exhibit emission spectra at different wavelengths. The simultaneous assays were conducted in microplate format with the fluorogenic probes monitored in the same well that uses microorganisms as enzyme source. Our results show that the fluorescent signal from each of the probes used here can be discriminated, allowing multiple enzyme activity detection and quantitation.

In this work, the surface and electrical characteristics ZnO:Al thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering onto glass substrates have been investigated. Analysis of surface morphologies revealed two growth stages. In the first stage, up to thicknesses of 100 nm, the films show surface structures with a granular form without preferential orientation. Beyond thicknesses of 100 nm, however, the grain structures increase in size and height, producing a pyramidal form and preferred orientation along the c-axis. The XRD results show that the films have a preferred orientation in the (002) plane. Furthermore, with the evolution of the film thickness the electrical resistivity decreases to a minimum of 1.6 × 10- 3 Ω cm for the film of 465 nm thickness. The doping with aluminum atoms produces an increase in concentration of charge carriers to around 8.8 × 10(19) cm- 3. All films exhibit high optical transmittance (above 85%) in the visible region.