Mangroves are distributed at tropical and subtropical estuaries and coastal intertidal areas, which have specific adaptive mechanisms of physiological, morphological, anatomical and molecular characters due to the harsh tidal conditions. Some mangrove species seem to be highly tolerant of heavy metal pollution. Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element in the terrestrial crust and soils, and is the mineral matrix of growth for most plants. There is increasing evidence that Si has been beneficial for the healthy growth and development of many plant species. The relationship between Si and resistance of plants to toxic metals has been extensively studied. The objective of this study was to investigate whether or not Si has ameliorated the toxic effects of Cd and affected Cd subcellular distribution in the leaves and the root tips of Avicennia marina (Forsk.) Vierh Result and Discussions: Fig. 2 Effects of Si on the biomass of A. marina seedlings with 0, 50 and 100 mg L-1 affected by Cd (0.5 mg L-1). Error bars indicate standard deviations (n=3). Bars with different letters are statistically different (P<0.05) according to the Duncan test. Fig. 3Effects of Si on Cd concentrations of the leaves and the root tips of A. marina seedlings. Error bars indicate standard deviations (n=3). Within the same organ, bars with different letters are statistically different (P<0.05) according to the Duncan test. Fig. 4 Effects of Si on Cd concentrations in the apoplastic sap of the 2nd oldest leaf and root tips of A. marina seedlings. Error bars indicate standard deviations (n=3). Within the same organ, bars with different letters are statistically different (P<0.05) according to the Duncan test. Fig. 5 Effects of Si on Cd concentrations in different fractions extracted from the cell walls of the leaves (a) and the root tips (b) under Cd stress. Error bars indicate standard deviations (n=3). Within the same fraction, Bars with different letters are statistically different (P< 0.05) according to the Duncan test. Conclusion: Effects of Si on Cd concentrations in the symplastic fraction of the leaves and the root tips of A. marina seedlings. Error bars indicate standard deviations (n=3). Within the same organ, bars with different letters are statistically different (P<0.05) according to the Duncan test. The results showed that Si partly overcame the reduction in growth due to Cd. This amelioration was correlated with a reduction in Cd uptake and alteration of Cd subcellular distribution. The mechanisms of Si amelioration of Cd stress were tissue dependent. In the leaves and the root tips, Si reduced Cd concentration in subcellular fractions and Cd mobility and the concentration of biologically active Cd in the cell walls active space. Si did not change the distribution ratio of Cd compartmentation in the leaves, but increased the ratio of Cd in the cell walls and reduced the ratio of Cd in the symplast of the root tips. Si plays an important role in alleviating the toxicity of Cd in A. marina seedlings. Si decreased the total concentration of Cd in the leaves and in its root tips. Si treatment did not change the distribution ratio of Cd compartmentation in the leaves, but reduced Cd mobility and the concentration of biologically active Cd in the cell walls active space. In the root tips, Si restricts the apoplastic transport of Cd through the enhanced absorption of Cd on the cell walls, resulting in reduction of the ratio of Cd in the symplast and alleviation of Cd toxicity to the cytoplasm. The Si-mediated reduction of Cd concentration and Cd binding properties of the cell walls in the leaves and the root tips might be responsible for the role of Si in alleviating Cd toxicity to A. marina seedlings. Changes to the distribution ratio of Cd compartmentation may be an important mechanism of Si-induced Cd tolerance for A. marina seedlings in the root tips.

Cheng-Tao Wang has completed his PhD from College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University (CAU) in 2006. He is a deputy dean and a professor， School of Food and Chemical Engineering of Beijing Technology and Business University (BTBU). He has published more than 75 papers in reputed journals, and has been serving as an editorial board member of Science and Technology of Food Industry (STFI).

The preparation conditions and efficiency of glucose stearic acid esters (GSAE) by lipase-catalyzed reaction in non-aqueous media were studied in this work. The available lipase of catalytic synthesis GSAE in non-aqueous media was screened from 7 commercial lipases, and the effects of various lipase and amount, various organic solvent and amount, molar ratio of substrates, water amount, molecular sieve 3A amount, Agitation speed, reaction temperature, reaction time on GSAE yield were experiment, respectively. The results showed that acetone was appropriate solvent, the immobilized lipase Novozym 435 was the best catalyst for esterification reactions in acetone, and excessive water in the reaction system obviously decreased Novozyme 435 activity and GSAE yield, thus it was very necessary to add defined amount moisture absorber to remove the water of substrates, solvent and reaction process. The optimized esterification reaction conditions with 0.08 g Novozyme 435, 0.8 g 3A molecular sieve, the mole ratio of stearic acid and glucose = 3:1, 10 ml acetone, 150r/min shaking, 45℃ reaction temperature, 5 h reaction time were good for making the produce GSAE in non-aqueous media. In the optimized condition, the maximum reaction rate Vm was 0.749 μmol/min•g, Km was 0.0203 mmol/L and the GSAE yield rate was up to 64.11%.

Emily Kolomiets is the Director of Institute of Microbiology, National Academy of Sciences, Minsk, Belarus. She completed her Ph.D. titled in microbiology for thesis on Penicillium growth and protein accumulation (1980).In (1999) Doctor of Biological Sciences thesis devoted to microbial phytoprotective and growth-promoting products.She is investigating interaction mechanisms of antagonistic microbial cultures with plant and animal pathogens and developing technologies of producing biological agents showing phytoprotective, growth-promoting and immune-stimulating effects.She the is author of over 350 publications, including 2 monographs and 12 patents. In recent years she completed development of 10 valuable biological products.

Due to limited natural resources in Belarus plantation silviculture appears a promising trend of forest management at specially allocated areas. Laying out massive plantations requires sufficient amount of planting stock. The optimal solution of this problem envisages engineering microclonal cultures of valuable wood varieties and large-scale production of derived plantlets. Application of microbial preparations accelerates adaptation of microclonal transplants to non-sterile soil environment. Introduction of eco-friendly low-toxic biological products will allow to save 30-40% of mineral fertilizers and chemical agents. Aim of the study was to assess efficiency of microbial preparations Fruitin (based on antagonistic strain Bacillus subtilis) and Gordebac (based on nitrogen-fixing and phosphate-mobilizing Enterobacter strains) to stimulate growth of microclonal aspen cultures. Introduction of rifampicin-resistant rhizobacteria into rhizosphere of aspen microclonal variants was accomplished by watering regenerants transferred to peat-sand-prelate substrate and transplanted to nursery. Treatment of microclonally propagated aspen plantlets with 2% Fruitin and Gordebac concentrations resulted by 2 months in significant rise of survival rate and stem height by 2.4-times and 20%, respectively, as compared to the control. Upon 4 months clear distinctions in survival rate (4.4 times on the average) remained evident/ Increased growth rate of aspen microclonal transplants promoted by microbial preparations enables to reduce cultivation costs and yield standard planting material in shorter terms.

Zhongxin Zhou is now a post-doctorate researcher of State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering in East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) and he has completed his PhD at ECUST in 2012. He has published 6 papers in reputed journals related to bioprocess and antimicrobials. His studies project are being financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21204020) and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Nos. 2013M530184).

Monascus pigment is traditionally produced by Monascus fermentation employing rice powder or glucose as the culture substrate. By submerged fermentation, Monascus pigment yield would be more stable and the accompanied toxic byproduct-citrinin could be controlled and removed more easily. To reduce the cost of Monascus submerged fermentation, the feasibility of corncob hydrolysate as an alternative substrate was investigated. Results showed that, compared to the traditional glucose medium, corncob hydrolysate medium had an equal pigment yield without stimulating accumulations of the toxic citrinin. Furthermore, the corncob hydrolysate medium and cultivation were optimized to enhance pigment productions but depress synthesises of the toxic citrinin. When Monascus was cultured under dark condition and caprylic acid was added into the medium, the pigment was increased to 25.81±0.83 UA500 /mL, higher than 24.04±0.97 UA500 /mL of the glucose medium and previously reported yields in Monascus submerged fermentation based on the same yield unit, and the toxic citrinin was decreased to 26.2±1.9 μg/L, significantly lower than 44.3±2.2 μg/L of the glucose control and that reported in publications. In this study, corncob hydrolysate was proved as safe and highly efficient alternative substrate of submerged fermentation for Monascus pigment productions, which showed significant advantages than the traditional glucose substrate.

Zinaida Aleschenkova is the Head, laboratory of soil microorganisms - plants interactions, Institute of Microbiology, Belarus National Academy of Sciences. Completed her Ph.D. degree in Microbiology. January 2001 - Doctor of Biological Sciences title for the theses on microbial degradation of phthalate esters(January 1988). Her Scientific interests: soil microorganisms - plants interactions, phytoremediation of contaminated soil, development of microbial preparations stimulating growth of cultivars and decomposition of xenobiotics. She is the author of 250 publications and 18 patents. During the last 5 years she coordinated development of 5 biotechnological products promoting plant growth and contributing to environmental protection.

An extremely relevant phytoremediation trend is degradation of hydrocarbon pollutants in soil (petroleumand refining products). We used perennial legume grasses Galegaeorientalis Lam. and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) as phytoremediants restoring biological activity of soil affected by petroleumor its fractions. Plant productivity is grounded on symbiosis with nodulating bacteria Sinorhizobium melilotiandRhizobium galegae. The latter is able to consume oil as the sole carbon source. Petroleumcontent in liquid mineral medium (0.5 and 1 %, v/v) fell in 3 months under the impact of nodulating bacteria by 97.4 % and 97.8 %, respectively. Successful 5-month performance of plant-microbial association R.galegae-Galegaeorientalis Lam. in trials with 0.5 % oil concentration reduced its soil level by 86 %, whereas in variants with 1 % oil concentration the pollutant load dropped by 61 %. Presowing treatment of alfalfa seeds with microorganisms promoted 1% oil decomposition in sod-podzol soil during cultivation of the legume crop.Inoculation of alfalfa seeds with nodulating bacteria S. meliloti intensified oil degradation by 13.8% as compared to the control. Seed exposure to phosphate-mobilizing bacteria Serratiaplymuthica increased oil detoxification rate in soil by 28.4 %. Maximum efficiency of oil disposal was recorded upon application of plant-microbial association S. meliloti + S.plymuthica + Medicagosativa when 58.47% acceleration of the process was achieved.

In September 1990, she got her master degree in Analytic Chemistry on Stabilty constants of some amino acids. In December 1999, She got her Ph.D. degree in Inorganic chemistry. The research project is the synthesis, structural characterization of new amino acid-Schiff bases and their Co(II), Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes. Since 2003, I teach Inorganic Chemistry, Coordination Chemistry and Metal Chemistry to undergraduate students. She set up the inorganic and coordinasyon polymer laboratory and biocatalysis by means of Gazi University Scientific Research Projects fund. Now her ongoing research is focusing on inorganic polymer attached Schiff bases and metal ions and biocatalysis.

Schiff bases are active against a wide range of organisms since they play an important role in living organisms, such as decarboxylation, transamination and C-C bond cleavage. Decarboxylation and transamination are of importance in the biosynthesis of hormones, neurotransmitters and pigments. The chemistry of polymer-based macromolecules including Schiff bases has been receiving significant attention as one of the promising immobilization alternatives for biopolymer biosensors in various industry areas. Furthermore, the coordinating ability of the metal within the polymer-based macromolecules permits these materials to act as sensors. Particularly, although studies on enzyme immobilization of the polymer-based macromolecules including metal atoms (Si, Se, etc.) on transition metal does not show this. In fact, polymer attached metals which have a coordination capability may bond with –NH and –COOH groups of the enzyme. My work is becoming ever more diverse on this issue. On the other hand, it is exciting to synthesize the various ligands and complexes for me. Because, ligands and complexes that include sulfur and nitrogen have wide applications for the synthesis of drugs. Therefore, there is considerable interest in the synthesis and characterization of these compounds. As we know, drug resistances against antibacterial agents may be a problem in their use for medical purpose. The problem may be overcome by the preparation of metal complexes, using a process of chelation with the coordination of transition metal ions. Schiff bases have N atoms as their basic elements. Schiff base derivatives containing donor atom can act as good chelating agents for the transition of metal ions. Research shows that, Schiff bases and their metal complexes have been widely studied due to their import antiparasitic, fungicidal-bactericidal, and anticancer properties.

Elvan HASANOĞLU ÖZKAN received with maximum score her bachelor’s degree from Niğde University in chemistry in 2007. In 2009, she received her Master’s degree in Inorganic Chemistry from Universty of Niğde. She is currently working on a PhD degree at Gazi University under the direction of Associate Professor Dr. Nurşen Sarı.

Recently, dendritic macromolecules have received significant attention because of their good stability and high chemical reactivity. Dendrons are different from dendrimers. Even though symmetry of the molecule is broken, there is a focal point. To research, dendron including functional groups synthesized for enzyme immobilization. To prepare such a dendron, the melamine reacted with dialdehyde and ferrocene aldehyde by means Schiff’s condensation method and characterizated via 1H-NMR, FT-IR and LC-MS. İmmobilized Glucose Oxidase Enzyme (GOx) on to novel dendron showed two optimum pH. The influence of reusability and storage capacity on the free and immobilized glucose oxidase enzyme was investigated. After 10 months, the immobilized enzyme (on studied dendron) retained 92.80 % of it’s original activity. High activitiy was found for immobilized enzyme. This result suggest that the studied dendron-support confer a higher conformational stability upon the immobilized enzyme due to form of covalent bond. Key words: Dendron, Immobilization, GOx enzyme, Ferrocene.

Dilek Nartop is an Assistant Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli. She received her PhD degree from Gazi University in 2006. Her research interests are focused on the synthesis, characterization and biological activity of Schiff bases; coordination polymers; enzyme immobilization and biocatalysis.

Polymer nanoplatforms, particularly nanospheres, play important roles in biotechnological applications. In this study, (aminomethyl)polystyrene (APS) attached Pt(IV) ion based nanoplatforms were prepared via template method for studies biocatalysts of glucose oxidase enzyme (GOx). Nanoplatforms were characterized. The effect of pH and temperature on the activity of immobilized GOx was investigated. The reusability, storage stability and kinetic properties of the immobilized GOx were examined. Vmax /Km values were calculated from Lineweaver-Burk plots for immobilized GOx to the [APS-SalPt(IV)] supports, 1.95, 34.72 and 2.94, 38.46 mMmin-1 / mM respectively for 40 and 80 oC.

H. Öğütçü is Associate Professor of Microbiology at Ahi Evran University, Turkey. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Biology in 1991 at Atatürk University. She was graduated in Biology at Atatürk University. She attained the Doctoral degree in Microbiology in 2000.

The coordination chemistry of transition metal complexes with azomethine ligands has been widely studied, partly due to the use of such compounds as antibacterial drugs in the field of medicine. In particular, titanium (IV), platinum (II) and silver (I) complexes have been used in the treatment of numerous diseases. The aim of this work was to investigate the antibacterial and antifungal activities of new Pt(II) complexes. Four new Pt(II) complexes have been examined for antibacterial activity against pathogenic strains Listeria monocytogenes 4b ATCC19115, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923, Escherichia coli ATCC1280, Salmonella typhi H NCTC 901.8394, Brucella abortus RSKK03026, Staphylococcus epidermis sp., Micrococcus luteus ATCC93419, and Shigella dysenteria typ 10 NCTC 9351, and antifungal activity against Candida albicans Y-1200-NIH, Tokyo. The antimicrobial test results of Pt(II) complexes including chloride ion in coordination sphere exhibited better activity than some known antibiotics.

M.Sc. Rieke Lohse, born 1985 in Germany, is working at the faculty of Engineering Science and Mathematics in the research group of Prof. Dr. Anant Patel at the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld, Germany. From 2005 to 2010, she studied Molecular Biotechnology at the Bielefeld University and has earned a Masters degree in November 2010. Since then, she is an external PhD student at the Goettingen University and will finish her graduation with the topic “Fermentation and formulation of an entomopathogenic and endophytic B. bassiana strain” in 2014.

The estimated high species diversity of endophytic microorganisms and their adaption to various plant habitats suggests a rich and almost untapped source of new secondary metabolites for pharmaceutical or agricultural applications. Today a lot of interesting compounds from plants and trees are obtained via complex extractions in low concentrations. Consequently, it can be hypothesized that some of these pharmaceutical and agricultural compounds are directly produced by endophytes. All parts of a tropical tree show an array of negative effects on insects including ovipositor deterrent, anti-feedant and other inhibitory activities. That is why we want to investigate in a recently granted project if this tree contains endophytic microorganisms, if these produce bioinsecticides associated with the plant metabolism. Based on these findings, we want to develop an in-vitro mass-production process in a 2 L stirred tank reactor. At first, endophytes were isolated from seeds, leaves and stems of several tree samples. In only one tree 14 endophytes, bacteria and fungi, were found. All in all, over 100 endophytes have so far been isolated from different tree sources. Then, endophytic fungi and bacteria were cultivated in Sabouraud dextrose and in potato dextrose liquid media for 14 days at 150 rpm and 25°C. Terpenoid secondary metabolites that indicate the production of bioinsecticides that so far have been thought to be produced by the tree, were detected in the culture broth of one bacterium and three fungi with HPLC-DAD. Furthermore, we will present first data on classification of endophytes and identification of metabolites by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS.

María Isabel Maestre completed her PhD degree in the field of cell biology at Miguel Hernandez University (Alicante, Spain). She has been working as a researcher in INESCOP (Footwear Technological Institute) since 2005, being part of the Biotechnology Department. Natalia Cuesta is a biologist and biochemist who has recently completed her PhD degree. She is also working as a researcher at INESCOP’s Biotechnology Department. They are both involved in projects aimed to apply biology and biotechnology-based techniques to the study and solution of problems that affect the footwear industry.

One of the biggest problems faced when studying leather biodegradation – using a prototype developed by INESCOP based on infrared CO2 detection – lies in obtaining an inoculum containing the same microorganisms for all the tests. Since the experiments were carried out with inoculum samples from tannery wastewater, it was very important to understand the variability of their microbial composition. This study offers the opportunity to know the main microorganisms present in a tannery wastewater system, which will help find out which of the present species are involved in the biodegradation of leather and establish the ideal composition of the inoculum. Therefore, a study of the microbial diversity was carried out through the RNAr gene analysis in water samples from two biological tanks filled with tannery wastewater, as well as from a municipal wastewater tank. Samples were evaluated by PCR analysis of the RNAr gene amplified directly from the samples, followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The results showed that the microbial diversity was significantly high in tannery wastewater samples, each one having around 40 phylotypes. Interestingly, an active part of the degrading community was composed of protozoa and fungi, probably synergistically collaborating with prokaryotes in the biodegradation. For eukaryotes, DGGE indicated a lower diversity than for bacteria, this group being basically composed of a mixed population of protozoa and non-cultivated fungi. For bacteria, a large number of DGGE bands (64%) corresponded to bacteria not phylogenetically related to known and characterised species, the most abundant in the tannery wastewater analysed being Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. The sequencing data indicated that the majority of microorganisms present in the samples that had been analysed were uncultured species that had not been previously described.

Isabel Mª González is presently undertaking her second year of her PhD in the area of Food Biotechnology in the group of Chemical and Engineering Technology of the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid (Spain). She gained her degree in Biotechnology at the Pablo de Olavide University. Afterwards, she undertook a Master related to Rare Diseases. During these years she has collaborated in several research projects in the area of molecular biology, genetic engineering, biocomputing and molecular modelling.

The demand for foods with demonstrable health benefits has recently increased due to the general awareness on nutrition [1]. Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are currently an interesting example of this kind of functional foods. They are polymers of glucose and galactose (Galn-Glc) which are non-digestible and act as prebiotics by stimulating the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the human intestine. In addition, they present low calorific content being excellent food and drink sweeteners [1]. The enzyme β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) can synthesize GOS from lactose (transgalactosylation reaction), but also hydrolyze GOS and lactose (hydrolysis reaction) [2]. Even though both reactions take place simultaneously, the desired transgalactosylation can be favoured at high lactose concentration, elevated temperature and low water content. Moreover, the GOS composition of the reaction mixture can be influenced by a number of factors, including initial lactose concentration, enzyme source, pH and temperature [3]. In this work two commercial enzymes have been used to evaluate the β-galactosidase activity: Lactozym Pure 6500 L, a beta-galactosidase from Kluyveromyces lactis, and Pectinex Ultra SP-L, a poligaracturonase from Aspergillus aculeatus. Both enzymes were first characterized in order to evaluate their hydrolysis activity at different pH (from 4.5 to 7.5) and temperature (from 40 to 60ºC) following the well-known oNPG method [2]. Then, the experimental conditions for the GOS synthesis such as temperature, pH, lactose and enzyme concentrations have been studied, aiming to optimize the production of tri- or higher oligosaccharides.

María Isabel Maestre completed her PhD degree in the field of cell biology at Miguel Hernandez University (Alicante, Spain). She has been working as a researcher in INESCOP (Footwear Technological Institute) since 2005, being part of the Biotechnology Department. Natalia Cuesta is a biologist and biochemist who has recently completed her PhD degree. She is also working as a researcher at INESCOP’s Biotechnology Department. They are both involved in projects aimed to apply biology and biotechnology-based techniques to the study and solution of problems that affect the footwear industry.

Around 80-85% of leather is produced using chrome, in its trivalent (III) form, as a tanning agent. For different reasons, part of this Cr (III) can be transformed into Cr (VI) in the leather itself. Cr (VI) is carcinogenic and mutagenic if inhaled, toxic if ingested and allergenic when in contact with the skin. It is estimated that up to 0.11% of the European population is allergic to Cr (VI). Although the European Commission is expected to establish this year a limit of 3 ppm for the amount of Cr VI/ kg of leather in goods intended to be in contact with skin, some chrome VI sensitised patients have developed cutaneous allergic reactions to values under this limit. However, the analytical standard test methods currently applied feature a detection limit of 3 ppm. By means of an in vitro method (cultured human fibroblasts), cytotoxicity assays were performed by exposing them to known Cr (VI) concentrations (>3 ppm) prepared in a 5.5 pH artificial sweat buffer for 24h, and then analysing cell viability by means of the MTT cytotoxicity test. Furthermore, extracts were obtained in the same buffer from chrome-tanned leather containing Cr VI, in order to determine if the cytotoxicity was attributable to Cr (VI) exclusively, or if it was modulated by the effect of another compounds present in tanned leather.

A comparative study of different steps in the mode of action of the individual Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki BNS3 Cry1Aa and Cry1Ac -endotoxins on E. kuehniella larvae was performed in order to investigate the origin of the difference in the response of this larvae to each of the latter. Proteolytic activation was shown to be one of the main steps impaired in E. kuehniella tolerance to Cry1Aa. The absence of two proteinase activities as well as an altered activity level observed in the case of Cry1Aa would be the consequence of proteinase-mediated tolerance of E. kuehniella to this toxin. In situ binding and histopathological effect analyses allowed concluding that the binding of the toxin to BBMV receptors is the key step in E. kuehniella tolerance to Cry1Aa toxin. The latter was slightly bound to apical membranes of epithelial cells that remained intact, whereas Cry1Ac was tightly bound to completely damaged cells basal membranes. The potential involvement of the larval stages in Cry1Aa toxicity was studied by toxicity test and investigation of the various steps of the mode of action. The Cry1Aa δ-endotoxin induced mortality of larvae at high concentrations and at an early stage. Unlike δ-endotoxins BLB1, the δ-endotoxin Cry1Aa shows a significant difference between the LC50 of L1 and L5 suggesting that the L1 stage is more sensitive to a potential toxic effect of the δ-endotoxin. The results of the activation and inactivation kinetics of the δ-endotoxin Cry1Aa by intestinal juice of E. kuehniella larvea as well as histopathological effects investigation, confirmed the presence of differences between the two larval stages. These data were reinforced by characterizations of protease juice content and BBMV receptors in both larval stages studied.

Faizan Raza currently holding a master's degree from Nottingham Trent University (UK) in Applied Bio Science (Molecular Biology) . He was awarded for Bachelor's degree in laboratory Science from DUHS-IMT Karachi in December 2009. His academic credentials are certified from World Education Services (WES) Canada. During the period of undergraduate studies besides his course work he had involved in part time work related to his field in a well known organization/ Hospital (NIBD), Pakistan. therefore, he enhanced his technical skills from those extra curricular activities and later these skills also proved to be very helpful in his professional carrier. He worked as permanent employ in the molecular department of National Institute of Blood Disease from January 2010 - June 2012. This institute is a teaching Hospital for different division of Pathology (Hematology, Molecular biology, Blood transfusion, Microbiology /Immunology and others). More recent, He is working with NHS- Blood and Transplant in Immuno genetics department to explore his technical skills on Molecular level.

Microtubules regulation helps in the development and maintenance of cell shape, growth, division, motility and in intercellular signaling. . As a result the unstable state of these microtubules can be crucial for proper functioning of cell including development of cancer cell. One of the well known leukemia type CML is also progressed by microtubules. Our aim is to study the expression of tubulin isoforms during the CML chronic and blast phases and also the influence of transcription factors, activated by BCR/ABL, on the expression of these beta tubulins. We found during our bioinformatics transcription factors cyclosporine A (CREB) is involved to inhibit the tubulin gene. We cultured the leukemia cell lines KU812 and TCC-S and after incubation we seed and treat the cell lines with (cyclosporine A) with different concentration and time of interval. Cell proliferation result revealed that after 24 and 48 hours, TCC-S cells incubation with 1mM concentration of cyclosporine A inhibitor (CREB) inhibits TCC-S cell line proliferation effectively in blast phase while 10mM concentration of cyclosporine A inhibitor (CREB) is significant to inhibit KU812 cells in chronic phase of leukaemia. We have also done western blotting to identify the change in tubulin protein but it doesn’t give any result however it could be repeated for future work. Furthermore we assess the change in tubulin gene by using qPCR with different tubulin isoforms and we found that the relative expression of tubulins isoforms in tubulin gene is usually up and high regulated in chronic phase comparatively blast phase of leukemia. That suggests that TUBB could be used as biomarkers for leukemia pathology. It is also believe that in chronic phase of leukemia, there would be high ratio of these markers.

Andreia de Araújo Morandim-Giannetti graduated in Bachelor of Technology Chemistry from the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (1997) and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2004). He is currently full-time at Centro Universitário da FEI (SBC). Has experience in the field of chemistry and biotechnology

With the increase in the interest about renewable fuel, the researches about more efficient methods of reaction had been increasing as well. Nowadays, the biodiesel is synthesized by the reaction between soy oil and methanol with homogeneous catalyst. This route generates a high amount of wastewater in addition the glycerin is impure which ends up being aggregate to the wastewater because the price of purification is higher than the pure glycerin. An alternative is the use of heterogeneous catalyst because they don’t generate wastewater and the byproduct is pure glycerin. The present work, focus in the synthesis of nanoparticulated -alumina doped with yttrium as heterogeneous catalyst in the synthesis of biodiesel. The doping altered the characteristics of the material, like the surface area 69.54m2/g to 226.13m2/g and density 4g/cm3 to 2.5g/cm3. The doped -alumina powder was compressed and it was used a heterocoagulation method to create a porous material to increase the contact area of the pellet. The catalyst worked in the synthesis of biodiesel, High-performance Liquid Chromatograph (HPLC) indicated the presence of components of the biodiesel, even with the low yield.

Rosemeire Pietro is Associate Professor of Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Araraquara in São Paulo State University-UNESP. She was graduated in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the same University. She completed her PhD in Biochemistry and her postdoctoral research at Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo-USP. She is the coordinator of the Postgraduate Course of Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Araraquara - UNESP. Her research interest includes drug discovery from natural sources, including the study of the mechanisms of action and microbial enzymes.

Pothomorphe umbellata, a plant of Brazilian flora, belonging to the family Piperaceae, popularly known as caapeba, pariparoba, capeva, can be found from south of Brazil. It is used in folk medicine as analgesic, diuretic, anti-spasmodic agent, to inflammatory disorders, malaria, asthma and gastrointestinal diseases and some substances found, were sitosterol, stigmasterol and 4-nerolidylcatechol. The great diversity of Brazilian flora can be considered for antifungal activity of some plants. In two past decades the incidence of infections caused by dermatophytes and other fungi has increased, due to the inefficiency of some drugs to these agents. Among the dermatophytes that have a higher incidence worldwide Trichophyton rubrum is a prevalent agent of tinea in developed world. The objective of this work was to evaluate the antifungal activity of a hexane fraction of P. umbellata to dermatophyte T. rubrum (Tr1). The 70% ethanolic extract of P. umbellata was fractionated with hexane (FHex). T. rubrum grown for 7 days (Tr1Control) was after submitted to treatment with FHex (976 ug/mL) during additional 7 days. After filtration of mycelia, the supernatant was analyzed to protein content and applied to a non-denaturant gel electrophoresis in a gel containing gelatin (2mg/mL). The results showed a reduction of band intensity in the condition in which T. rubrum was treated with FHex, suggesting that a possible mechanism of action of P. umbellata fraction is by decreased enzyme levels or protease inhibition. More detailed studies must be conducted to characterize the antifungal mechanism of action of P. umbellata fraction.

Andreia de Araújo Morandim-Giannetti graduated in Bachelor of Technology Chemistry from the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (1997) and Ph.D. in Chemistry from the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (2004). He is currently full-time at Centro Universitário da FEI (SBC). Has experience in the field of chemistry and biotechnology

Currently, many researches have been conducted to the use of natural fibers as potential replacements for synthetic fibers in polymer composites. In addition, these natural fibers are renewable resources with low cost and allow them to obtain biocomposites especially when used with biopolymers. For that reason, the following work had as its main objective to study the delignification of corn fiber influence in obtaining composites with ECOBRASâ„¢ due to the change of roughness as a function of vegetal fiber pulping condition. Initially, it was performed the grinding of the corn husks and thereafter particle size analysis of the product, showing that the milled fiber has variations in its particle size. However, the samples are homogeneous and provide a standard product for each delignification. Through the alkaline pulping performed, it was found that both the reaction time factor as well as the caustic soda concentration has influenced the treatment of the sample and impact qualitatively and quantitatively on the obtained fiber. The characterizations, carried out with crude fiber and alkali treated ones has shown that the delignification was intensive until certain point, through the surface characterization (SEM) confirmed the occurrence of degradation of the fiber. The fiber and ECOBRASTM were processed by extrusion and injected, and the mechanical properties of the composites obtained were analyzed using the Statistical Program. The best condition of pulping was determined by analysis of data from tensile strength.

Andres Merino Restrepo is in the fourth year of Biological Engineering from National University of Colombia and he has been in all his studies in the top five best scores of his class. He is a member of the Research Group “Synthesis, Reactivity and Transformation of Organic Compounds” (SIRYTCOR, for its acronym in Spanish). His researching experience in the environmental topic, specifically in the respect of biological degradation processes by Solid State Fermentation, has strengthened due to his important participation in Master Projects and his expertise in high-end equipment. He has taken part in several congresses.

The presence of synthetic dyes in hydric effluents generates a severe incidence both esthetic and ecological, because it decreases the gas solubility, affects the photosynthetic processes and may induce carcinogenic effects in different organisms. With the aim to take advantage of the adsorption ability of some agricultural wastes like the corncob, because of its high content in lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose; the dye is impregnated on it and afterwards a solid state fermentation process with White Rot Fungi is developed, which degrade the dye by biocathalitic activity of their ligninolytic enzymes. Subsequently, to quantify the degradation percentage, it is necessary to make a desorption process which allows to determine the amount of remaining dye at the end of the fermentation. For this purpose, a statistical analysis using a full 23 factorial design was made, where the effect of the variables contact time, concentration of potassium hydroxide and dyed waste dosage was evaluated by a Pareto chart. The parameters agitation, temperature and desorbent volume remained constant. The best conditions to desorb the residual dye in the support were estimated by the response surface. The optimization offers a desorption with percentages close to 99,86% and an adjustment coefficient of 98,27% for a contact time of 120 minutes, a potassium hydroxide concentration of 0,01 molL-1 and a dosage of 15 gL-1, indicating that this is an appropriate method for the dye quantification.

Sara Jiménez Correa is in her fourth year of Biological Engineering at National University of Colombia. She is a member of the “Synthesis, Reactivity and Transformation of Organic Compounds” research group. Her researching experience in the environmental field, specifically in biological degradation processes by Solid State Fermentation, has improved thanks to her participation in Master Projects and her expertise in high-tech equipment. She has attended several worldwide congresses.

The release of dyes into aquatic ecosystems represents a serious environmental problem, since even at low concentrations affects negatively both, its aesthetic and functionality. White-Rot Fungi (WRF) have been widely studied because of their ability to produce extracellular enzymes, which are involved in the dyes degradation. As fungal species represent a fundamental parameter in the bioremediation processes, in this work the degradation percentages achieved by three species of WRF: Trametes versicolor, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius, were evaluated. First of all, a qualitative analysis to compare the Red 40 dye (100 mgL-1) degradation in two mediums with different carbon source, PDA and Malt Extract-Agar, was carried out by monitoring each day the degradation halo. The observations made during the incubation time (12 days), allowed to establish that the Malt Extract was the most suitable medium because it contributed to the apparently complete degradation of the dye. Afterwards, a quantitative analysis to compare the degradation percentages of Red 40 generated by the three species of WRF was performed. This was made after 15 days of growing under agitation (120 rpm) at 28 ° C, in the medium previously selected in liquid state and supplemented with nutrients. The degradation percentages found for T. versicolor, P. ostreatus and P. pulmonarius were in the order of 97.85%, 97.51% and 69.53%, respectively. The results indicate that T. versicolor and P. ostreatus are promising microorganisms in processes oriented to degrade synthetic azo dyes such as Red 40.

Ana Cristina Jaramillo Madrid has completed her Biological Engineering Degree at the age of 22 years from National University of Colombia and she was awarded as the best average of her career. She is currently taking her Masters studies in Biotechnology at National University of Colombia, Science Faculty. She has been developing investigative work during three years about biological process in the research group of experimental chemistry in the area of solid state fermentation. She has published papers in an indexed national review and participated in international congresses.

The colored effluents from different industries have affected profoundly the aqueous environment, causing not only an esthetic deterioration, but also a health risk because it has been reported that some dyes are toxic and carcinogenic. Some chemical, physical and biological methods have been used to treat this kind of contaminants, in this study a combined method physical and biological was used. Full 22 factorial design was performed to evaluate the degradation of red 40 dye under solid state fermentation conditions, using two white rot fungi species, Pleurotus ostreatus and Pleurotus pulmonarius. The red 40 dye was removed from aqueous solution by a batch adsorption procedure using corncob wastes as adsorbent material. This agricultural waste impregnated with dye was the solid support for the solid state fermentation. The analyzed variables were, C:N ratio (20-40) and inoculum amount (2-6 plugs of fungal mycelia10 mm diameter), while substrate dosage (150 mg), moisture content (80%) and temperature (25°C) were fixed. The best conditions for Pleurotus ostreatus were C:N ratio of 40 and 6 plugs of fungal mycelia, achieving a decolourization percentage of 67,4% and an adjustment coefficient of 99,5%. For Pleurotus pulmonarius the best conditions were the same but it achieved a low decolourization percentage of 45,4%. The results suggest that a degradation of red 40 dye under solid state fermentation conditions using Pleurotus ostreatus is a viable and low cost option to degrade dyes in industrial effluents.

Anna Chizhayeva defended the doctoral dissertation 12 years ago at the al-Farabi Kazakh National University. It the leading researcher of laboratory of biotechnology, quality and food safety at Research institute of the processing and food industry. She has published more than 30 papers. Area of its scientific interests is biology of lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, bacteriocins, safety of food.

Mostafa K. Nassar is an Assistant Professor of Poultry Breeding, Genetics and Genomics at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt. He obtained PhD from Humboldt-Universitätzu Berlin, Germany in 2012 in the field of Breeding Biology and Molecular Genetics. He received MSc and BSc from Cairo University, Egypt. Dr. Nassar is interested in discovering genes and their polymorphisms affectingpolygenic traits as well as genetic diversity in chickens in order to improve breeding program efficiency. He also published several papers in peer-reviewed journals and in international conferences. Additionally, Dr. Nassar acts as a reviewerin Poultry Science Journal (PSA), US. He awarded several prizes, fellowships and grants.

Growth traitsarepolygenic traits that are genetically determined by many genes.Knowledge of genes contributing to chicken growth can be used to identify polymorphisms of these genes in production lines to improve breeding program efficiency.A genome-wide scan was performed to detect chromosomal regions that affect 24 growth performance (body weight and body weight gain) and body composition (muscle mass, carcass parts and fat deposit)traits at different agesin reciprocal F2crosses(n = 579) between the inbred lines New Hampshire (NHI) and White Leghorn(WL77). The lines NHI and WL77 had been selected for high body weight at the age of 20 weeks and for low egg weight during laying period, respectively. Afterwards, the lines were inbred (Goragaet al. 2010). NHI chickens show a two-fold higher body weight at selection age compared to WL77.Linkage analyses provided evidence for highly significant quantitative traits loci (QTL)controlling growth performance and body composition on GGA2, 4 and 27. The peak QTL positions for different traits were located on GGA2 between 33.1 and 112.4 Mb, on GGA4 between 75.2 and 79.3 Mb, and on GGA27 between 3.6 and 3.8 Mb. The distal region of GGA4 (42.1 - 88.4 Mb) showed the highest effects on all analysed phenotypes. This region accounting for 4.6 to 40.2% of the phenotypic F2 variances of the corresponding affected traits (Nassaret al. 2012; 2013). Additional genome-wide significant and highly significant QTL for different analysed traits were mapped on GGA1, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 15, 26 and 27. For intramuscular fat content, a suggestive QTL was located on GGA14. Some loci have been reported in other studies. Other QTL effects were described for the first time. The majority of identified loci showed additive effects. The directions of the QTL effects were consistent in both reciprocal crosses, but the magnitude was higher in the high cross direction NHI x WL77. The difference between the parental lines and the highly significant QTL effects on GGA4 will further support fine mapping and candidate gene identification for growth traits in chicken.

Ragab W.S.M is the professor of Food Microbiology and Head of Food Sxeince and Technology Department, Assiut University, Egypt.He did his Ph.D. in Food Science & Technology (1990-194) with the research title: Studies on some mycotoxins in certain foodstuffs. From 2007-2011 served as Head of The Agricultural Department, Sugar Technology Institute, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.His research interest includes Food Microbiology and Mycotoxins. He attended more than 10 International Conferences, supervised more than 10 Ph.D. thesis and more than 20 publications.

Exo-Polygalacturonase (Exo-PG) produced from a newly isolated Aspergillus niger AUMC 4156 in fermentation media containing sugar beet pulp as a sole carbon source was separated and purified by filtration, ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, cold acetone precipitation and sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography. The specific activity of the purified enzyme increased from 0.88 to 5.75 U/ml, with an overall recovery rate of 23% of the crude enzyme. The optimum temperature and PH values for the function of the purified enzyme were 45oC and 4.0, respectively. Thermal and PH stability of the purified Exo- PG indicated that it was almost stable at 30oC and 40oC for up to 3.5 and 1.0 h.,respectively. Also, it was stable at acidic PH (3-6) but its stability decreased at higher PH values. The Km and Vmax. values of Exo-PG were 1.0 mg/ml and 6.9 u mole galacturonic acid/min/mg protein, respectively. Key words: Purification , Characterization, Aspergillus niger, Exo-Polygalacturonase

Suzan Abdelmageed Aboelmagd is an Associated professor at Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.In 2006 she completed her Ph. D. on Agricultural Econmics.Her previous employment involves: Demonstrator in Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt (from 1991- 1995), Assistant lecturer in the same Dept. (1995- 2006), Lecturer “Assistant professor” in the same Dept. (2006 – 2011)

Summary: This study aims to shed light on the effect of using cereal crops in the manufacturing of bio-fuel on the production and consumption of cereal crops in Egypt. The study used the secondary date published by international organizations and local institutions (During the period 1998-2011). Econometric and quantitative analysis method used. The most important results of the study are as follows: 1. The cultivated area of cereals in Egypt increased during the period (1998-2011) by annual growth rate of 1.25%, and the productivity increased by annual growth rate of 0.4%. This resulted in a significant increase in total production amounted about 1.72% annually , while the quantity available for consumption increased by annual growth rate of 2.1%, and then the average self-sufficiency amounted about 60% in the period of the study. 2. The net Imports increased by annual growth rate of 2.61% during the period of the study accompanied by an increase in the price per ton of grain amounted about 6.87%. Egypt needs about 3460 thousand feddans to cover the food gap in grain . 3. The grain area affected by the productivity per faddan and by local prices in the previous years. 4. USA, Brazil, EU, and China are the most biofuel producers in the world by annual growth rate of 22.1%. The production of biofuel affected by the world oil price and the grain quantity used in the production. If the world oil price and the grain quantity used increased by 10%, it due to an increased in ethanol production by 8.6% and 33.7% respectively. 5. Cereal production in Egypt increases together with increase in the world production of biofuel because of the lake of the expected imports and the increase of the prices of grain The recommendation of the study included: )a( increasing research fund, )b( increasing the investment in land reclamation area, )c( developing of new varieties of cereal crops, )d (developing of irrigation systems, )e( create new agricultural investment opportunities with neighboring countries.

Hala Hassanein Gomah Hassanein is an associate professor in Department of Soils and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University ,Egypt. She completed her Ph.D. in 2001. Her area of interest are Mineral nutrition on plant, Soil fertility and fertilizers, Heavy metals in soils and plants and Micronutrients and chelating agent. She published more than 15 research papers.

Two greenhouse pot experiments (clayey soil from "Assiut Experimental Farm" and sandy soil from "El-ghorieb Assiut Experimental Farm") were conducted in order to evaluate the main and interaction effects of solarization (covering the soil with transparent plastic sheets), inoculation with sulfur oxidizing bacteria SOB (isolated thiobacillus), addition of filter mud cake (one of the sugar industry wastes, Nagaa Hammady Sugar Factory) as a source of organic matter and elemental sulfur (granule or micronize) on some sand and clay soil properties. In both soils, the temperature of solarized soil was always higher than the nonsolarized one with an average of 6oC at 8:00 AM and 14oC at 4:00 PM which resulted in a reduction in OM percentage. Both FMC and S addition had great effects on increasing soil EC compared to the increase that resulted from either solarization or SOB inoculation. The effect of elemental sulfur addition on decreasing soil pH was higher than the other treatments in clay soil, while FMC addition was the most effective treatment in sandy soil. The highest increase in available S was always found when soils were treated with elemental sulfur. Each of the treatments increased the available P in both soils, however the most effective treatment was FMC addition. Soluble Ca+2+Mg+2 and K+ were always increase due to each of the treatments. The highest increase in soluble Na+ was due to increasing soil temperature by solarization compared to the other treatments.

Ebtesam El-Bestawy is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies & research, Alexandria University-Egypt. She is currently working for King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. She was completed her PhD in Environmental Biology 1993 from Manchester University, Manchester, UK and her postdoctoral research in Biotechnology from the same University as well as Denmark Technical University (DTU), Denmark. She contributed in 13 Training Courses (1993-2010) on environmental wastes: Basic Science and Practical Solutions and participated in 16 national and international conferences and symposia (1988-2010). Her research interests include first study and monitoring of environmental pollutants either organic (pesticides; crude oils…..etc.) or inorganic (e.g. heavy metals…etc) in aquatic environments and contaminated soils. Second, removal of such pollutants using indigenous and /or exogenous microorganisms in free-living or fixed treatment systems.

Isolation and selection of potent degradative microorganisms against naturally persistent compounds considered as a powerful means for environmental detoxification. In the present study, the natural biotic capacity of water to degrade four chlorinated hydrocarbons; DDT (1,1,1, -trichloro-2, 2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane); DDE (1,1, -dichloro-2, 2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethane); Lindane (1,2,3,4,5,6-hexachlorocyclohexane (-HCH); Endrin (1,2,3,4,10,10,hexachloro-6, 7 epoxy-1, 4,4a, 5,6,7,8a-octahydro-1, 4 endo-5, 8-dimethanophethalene) at two elevated levels (0.05 and 50 ppm) as mixtures was estimated. Five bacterial species (Pseudmonas cepacia, Enterobacter agglomerans, Arthrobacter sp., Eschericia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) previously isolated and identified from a heavily polluted lake (L.Mariut) were investigated as biodegraders during the present work. Also, the ability of these pesticides to challenge the growth of the selected species has been examined. The tested bacterial species found to promote efficiently the degradation of the tested compounds. The decrease of DDT, DDE, Lindaine and Endrin mediated by all the species. At the low concentration (0.05 ppm), the pesticide mixture was diminished by P. cepacia after 24 h of inoculation. On the other hand Arthrobacter sp., E. coli, S. aureus and E. agglomerans were able to degrade the pesticide mixture totally after 48, 72, 72 and 96 h, respectively. At the high concentration (50.0 ppm), the tested bacteria were able to degrade >87.0% of the pesticide mixture. The inhibitory (p <0.001) effect of pesticides mixture (DDT, DDE, Lindane and Endrin) at 0.05 & 50.0 ppm on bacterial growth was noticed. The magnitude of growth inhibition was found to be a function of the pesticide mixture concentration, bacterial species and the exposure time. Keywords: Biodegradation, chlorinated hydrocarbons, growth, pesticides, waters

Hosam Ezzeldin is a professor of pesticide science in the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Egypt. He completed his PhD project in 1997 at Chiba University, Japan in the field of pesticide toxicology. He is interested in biochemistry and the role of different enzymes in conferring resistance to different pests. He published more than 20 research papers and attended about 8 international conferences.

Double reciprocal plots of esterase activity in larval homogenate of Culex pipiens from susceptible and cypermethrin-selected generations toward 1-naphthyl acetate as substrate was carried out. These plots enable Michaelis – Menten constant (Km) and maximum velocity (Vmax) to be evaluated. Data of the kinetic constants for the hydrolysis of 1-naphthyl acetate (1-NA) indicated that the Michaelis – Menten constants, (Km values) were 2.01 x10-4, 1.9 x10-4, 2.17 x10-4, 1.9 x10-4, 1.8 x10-4, 1.93 x10-4 and 1.96 x10-4 M for 1-NA hydrolyzing esterases for 1-naphthyl acetate hydrolyzing esterase from 4th instar larvae of C. pipiens homogenates of S-strain, cypermethrin- selected generations (G0, G3, G5, G7, G9 and G10), respectively. The corresponding Vmax values were 11.05, 14.47, 23.87, 35.71, 72.99, 144.93 and 217.39 nmol substrate hydrolyzing/min/mg protein. The enzymatic half-life (t0.5) values were 12.06, 9.1, 6.3, 3.69, 1.71, 0.92 and 0.62 (Min (mg protein/ml)), respectively. Values of Km, Vmax and t0.5 obtained from the homogenate of S-strain and the corresponding values of cypermethrin-selected generations in relation to cypermethrin resistance were discussed.

Abou-Elhagag G.H is the professor and head of Department of plant protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Egypt.He completed his Ph.D. in Plant Protection (Economic Entomology), Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University (1995). He publshied more than 30 research papers and supervised two doctoral thesis.

Hedra helix is an ornamental plant which consider a host of the circular black scale insect, Chrysomphalus aonididuim (= ficus). The present work was conducted in the Experimental Station of the Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University during the two successive seasons, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. Results of both seasons clearly indicated that the pest population was high during the period from December to April. At this period, 68.92 and 73.38% of the pest population were recorded during the 1st and 2nd seasons, respectively. The highest percentage of the pest population was recorded during February of the 1st season (15.96%) and during April of the 2nd one (16.16%). The period from June to September had the lowest percentages (6.16 and 2.34%) of the pest population during both seasons, respectively. August had the lowest population during both seasons. The pest has four generations in each season. September was the favorable month for the pest population growth and build up, since the highest monthly variation rate (M.V.R.) was achieved. The effects of some biotic and abiotic factors on the insect population were also studied. Only one parasitoid species, Aphytis linganensis Compere was recorded during both seasons. The seasonal abundance, percentages of parasitism and the effect of some weather factors on its population were determined.

Mustafa Ahmed Fawzy has completed his Ph.D at the age of 31 years from Assiut University. He is lecturer in Botany & Microbiology Department. He has published 5 papers in reputed journals.

The effect of nutrients deficiency (phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur) on growth, ultrastructure, β-carotene and total lipid contents of the green alga Asteromonas gracilis has been examined. Algal cells were cultured under conditions of nutrients deficiency. Completely absent of phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur caused significantly decreased of chl. a in A. gracilis compared to control. The maximum growth rate and minimum generation time calculated on basis of chl. a were 0.032 and 21.9, respectively for control culture. The total carbohydrates were decreased with deficiency of phosphorus and sulphur, but increased in case of nitrogen deficiency. On the other hand, the production of β-carotene and total lipids was enhanced with phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur deficiency. The most changes in ultrastructure of A. gracilis observed when cells were cultivated without nitrogen source, the changes are in the structure of chloroplast, where the degradation of thylakoids was observed and the grana structure of thylakoids had almost disappeared as well as accumulation of starch grains were easily detected. Asteromonas gracilis has been identified as promising producers of useful lipids for biofuels production with cells containing about 37% oils. So the aim of this work was to study and evaluate the effect of nutrient deficiency such as phosphorus, nitrogen and sulphur on the β-carotene and lipids accumulation of Asteromonas (local isolate) in addition, the scanning and transmission electron microscopy were made under these conditions.

Heidi I.G. Abo-Elnaga is an Associate Professor, Department of Agronomy , Faculty of Agriculture, ِِAssiut University. She completed her Ph.D. In Plant Pathology,Assiut University, Egypt(2002). She published more than 15 research papers and supervised the thesis of 1 Ph.D. and 3 M.Sc. candidates.

Four isolates of Fusarium sambucinum(Fuckel ) (isolates 1,2,3,4)and four isolates of Fusarium solani( Mart.) Sacc .(isolates5, 6, 7,8)were isolated from different localities of sugar beet in Assiut Government .The tested isolated were pathogenic to sugar beet oskarpoly variety causing damping off and root rot. Isolates 2 and5 had the highest pathogen city to sugar beet isolates 3 and8had the lowest pathogen city pathogen city . Trichoderma viride have been used for their potential antagonism for controlling Fusarium sp damping off and root rot disease of sugar beet .In vitro studies showed that the culture filtrate of Trichoderma viride significantly decreased the growth of the tested isolates of both Fusarium sambucinum and Fusarium solani Treating the soil with formulation of Trichoderma viride before planting decreased damping off and root rot of sugar beet compared with untreated and untreated soil with formulation of Trichoderma viride under greenhouse conditions during growing seasons 2010and 2011.Chlorophyll a chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll carotenoids decreased when treatment the infested soil with either Fusarium sambucinum or Fusarium solani compared with untreated and untreated soil with formulation of Trichoderma viride,

Ebtesam El-Bestawy is a Professor of Environmental Microbiology & Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies & research, Alexandria University-Egypt. She is currently working for King Abdul-Aziz University, Saudi Arabia. She was completed her PhD in Environmental Biology 1993 from Manchester University, Manchester, UK and her postdoctoral research in Biotechnology from the same University as well as Denmark Technical University (DTU), Denmark. She contributed in 13 Training Courses (1993-2010) on environmental wastes: Basic Science and Practical Solutions and participated in 16 national and international conferences and symposia (1988-2010). Her research interests include first study and monitoring of environmental pollutants either organic (pesticides; crude oils…..etc.) or inorganic (e.g. heavy metals…etc) in aquatic environments and contaminated soils. Second, removal of such pollutants using indigenous and /or exogenous microorganisms in free-living or fixed treatment systems.