Vegetal waste treatment product of urban, agricultural and industrial processes has severaltechnical problems and constitutes a significant environmental concern. Among them are thepersistence of crop protection products in high concentrations in plant material and the lack ofmicroorganisms that can tolerate such compounds and efficiently decompose the substrate.Bacteria and mainly white rot fungi are the main decomposers of lignin because of their ability tosynthesize extracellular hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes in large quantities. Trichodermareesei, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp. and Phanerochaete chrysosporium strains are modelstrains whose hight degradation efficiency with lignocellulose materials even in the presence ofpollutants has been proven. Several studies such as directed mutagenesis, co-culturing andheterologous expression have been done in order to improve the content of some enzymes(cellulase, xylanase, and β-glucosidase) in model strains, additionally it has been done newgenetic searches to find other microorganisms with this potential. Its main applications are theindustrial production of ethanol and some seconday metabolites under controlled conditions infermentation processes. This review provides an overview about strategies and methodologiescurrently used for vegetal waste utilization by inoculation of microbial strains.

The aim of this research was to study the antioxidant compounds content in Red-purple treetomato grown at different altitudes (m.a.s.l.). Fruits from Pelileo (2660 m.a.s.l.) and Chiquicha(2440 m.a.s.l.) in three maturity stages (unripe, ripe and overripe) were used. Physicochemical(surface and internal color, pH, titratable total acidity -TTA- and total soluble solids -SST-) andbiochemical analyses using UV-Vis spectrophotometry (total phenol -TF-, total anthocyanins -TA-, total carotenes -CT-, L-ascorbic acid -AA- and antioxidant capacity -AC-) in the mesocarpand endocarp of fruits were performed. In the color, higher values of L* (epicarp) and h*(epicarp and mesocarp) in unripe, ripe and overripe fruits from Chiquicha were obtained, whileC* values of mesocarp and endocarp was higher in those from Pelileo. The color differenceswere evident during fruit ripening, but a direct relationship between crop altitude and changes in color parameters analyzed wasn’t found. There was a significantly higher difference in the pH oftomatoes (unripe and ripe) from Chiquicha. Also, these fruits had higher TTA (ripe and overripe)and TSS (overripe) than those from Pelileo. The mesocarp showed higher content of TF and TCin the fruits (three maturity stages) from Chiquicha, while higher concentration of thesecompounds showed the endocarp from Pelileo’s fruit. The TA and AA content was higher in ripefruits from Chiquicha. In general, the fruits from Chiquicha showed higher concentration ofantioxidant compounds, possibly because the plantation, consisting of at least two genotypes, islocated in a mountainous area with good characteristics for this fruit cultivation.

The aim of this research was to characterize the occupational hazards in the processes of therestaurant and kitchen areas of the Hostería Selva Virgen, property of the UniversidadTecnológica Equinoccial (UTE-Ecuador). To reach the objective, the processes and proceduresin the study areas were described. Then a survey was designed and implemented with the staffinvolved, directly or indirectly, with the tasks associated with the areas under investigation. Next,a risk matrix was developed to estimate the potential risks of working in these areas. With thisestimation, it became necessary to evaluate those risks considered relevant, measuring noise,light, heat stress, particulate matter and CO2 and CO gases.