Abstract: A process for the production of urea wherein: production of pure urea (U) includes the concentration of an aqueous urea solution (23) by crystallization; a urea crystallization purge aqueous phase (32) comprising urea, water and biuret, which is purged from the urea crystallization process, is used in a high-biuret urea processing section (34) for additional production of urea with a high content of biuret.

Abstract: A process for the production of biuret from urea wherein: a urea aqueous solution (24) withdrawn from the recovery section of a urea plant is processed to remove water and obtain a concentrated urea melt (25); said urea melt is processed under biuret-forming conditions to decompose urea into biuret and ammonia and obtain a high-biuret urea melt (26); said high-biuret urea melt (26) is diluted with water or with an aqueous stream obtaining a solution (28); the solution (28) is subject to crystallization and precipitation of a solid phase containing biuret which is separated from the aqueous phase.

Abstract: A process for purifying a urea-containing aqueous stream, such as the aqueous stream from the recovery section of a urea plant, comprising a step of removing biuret from the urea-containing stream by reverse osmosis in one or more reverse osmosis stages.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: A video-confocal microscopy method for creating an image of an optical section (?) of a sample (99), provides, in one aspect of the invention, illuminating the sample (99) with illumination beams (19) concentrated on spots (x,y) arranged in an illumination pattern (18) in an illumination plane (?0) at the optical section (?); translationally parallel moving the pattern (18) of spots (x,y) to a plurality of positions in the illumination plane; it also provides for each position (u,v) of the illumination pattern (18), receiving light (21) returned by the sample (99) by reflection and/or transmission and/or phosphorescence, and detecting raw images (52), each having a light intensity distribution Iu,v(x,y) on said image detector.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: Disclosed are dried and/or microencapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with a high content of (S)-(+)-S-adenosyl-L-methionine, in the form of a free base obtainable from selected high-productivity strains of (S)-(+)-SAMe.

Abstract: A video-confocal microscopy method for creating an image of an optical section (?) of a sample (99), provides, in one aspect of the invention, illuminating the sample (99) with illumination beams (19) concentrated on spots (x,y) arranged in an illumination pattern (18) in an illumination plane (?0) at the optical section (?); translationally parallel moving the pattern (18) of spots (x,y) to a plurality of positions in the illumination plane; it also provides for each position (u,v) of the illumination pattern (18), receiving light (21) returned by the sample (99) by reflection and/or transmission and/or phosphorescence, and detecting raw images (52), each having a light intensity distribution Iu,v(x,y) on said image detector.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the preparation of a copper-enriched biomass, comprising, in a first step, culturing Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells in a liquid nutrient medium comprising a carbon source, a nitrogen source, at least one amino acid and a copper salt, so as to obtain copper-enriched yeast biomass in the form of a Cu-GSH complex, wherein the intracellular content of Cu-GSH is higher than 1% dw and, in a second step, separating the copper-enriched yeast biomass from the nutrient liquid medium. Two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are described, designated as SA 221 BM and SA 586 BM, respectively (accession numbers DSM 21530 and DSM 21531, deposited with the DSMZ on Jun. 6, 2008), which have the ability to accumulate particularly high levels of intracellular copper. Moreover, the invention relates to the copper-enriched yeast biomass obtainable by the method of the invention, which has an intracellular Cu-GSH content higher than 1% dw, and its use in cosmetic and probiotic products.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for the preparation of a copper-enriched biomass, comprising, in a first step, culturing Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells in a liquid nutrient medium comprising a carbon source, a nitrogen source, at least one amino acid and a copper salt, so as to obtain copper-enriched yeast biomass in the form of a Cu-GSH complex, wherein the intracellular content of Cu-GSH is higher than 1% dw and, in a second step, separating the copper-enriched yeast biomass from the nutrient liquid medium. Two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are described, designated as SA 221 BM and SA 586 BM, respectively (accession numbers DSM 21530 and DSM 21531, deposited with the DSMZ on Jun. 6, 2008), which have the ability to accumulate particularly high levels of intracellular copper. Moreover, the invention relates to the copper-enriched yeast biomass obtainable by the method of the invention, which has an intracellular Cu-GSH content higher than 1% dw, and its use in cosmetic and probiotic products.

Abstract: The invention relates to a zinc-enriched biomass comprising living or subsequently killed micro-organisms, selected from the group consisting of Streptococcus thermophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and combinations thereof, a method for the manufacture of said zinc-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutic products, functional foods, cosmetic and cosmeceutic products, and food supplements, comprising the said biomass. Furthermore, new micro-organism strains are described which are able to concentrate zinc within the cell in very high amounts and therefore are particularly suitable for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of vitamin K2 (MK-7) comprising the culture of Bacillus subtilis mutant strain GN13/72-DSM 17766 deposited on Dec. 5, 2005 at the DSMZ.

Abstract: The invention relates to a selenium-enriched biomass containing live microorganisms selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus ferintoshensis, Lactobacillus buchneri/parabuchneri and combinations thereof, a method of preparation of the said selenium-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutical products and food supplements containing the said biomass. Moreover, new strains of lactobacilli are described that are able to concentrate selenium in very high amounts, and are therefore particularly useful for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: Disclosed are dried and/or microencapsulated Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with a high content of (S)-(+)-S-adenosyl-L-methionine, in the form of a free base obtainable from selected high-productivity strains of (S)-(+)-SAMe.

Abstract: The invention relates to a selenium-enriched biomass containing live microorganisms selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus ferintoshensis, Lactobacillus buchneri/parabuchneri and combinations thereof, a method of preparation of the said selenium-enriched biomass, as well as food preparations, nutraceutical products and food supplements containing the said biomass. Moreover, new strains of lactobacilli are described that are able to concentrate selenium in very high amounts, and are therefore particularly useful for use in the method of the invention.

Abstract: A process for the preparation of vitamin K2 (MK-7) comprising the culture of Bacillus subtilis mutant strain GN13/72-DSM 17766 deposited on Dec. 5, 2005 at the DSMZ.

Abstract: There is disclosed a fermentation process for producing glutathione which comprises (a) the obtainment of a biomass pre-culture by pre-cultivating, in aerobic conditions, a strain of a glutathione producing yeast wherein the glutathione content per biomass unit is higher than 1.2% w/w; (b) the cultivation, in aerobic conditions, of the resulting biomass pre-culture such that the resulting biomass density is higher than 50 g/l; (c) the activation of the cultured biomass; and (d) the recovery of the cultured biomass, extracting glutathione at a pH equal to or lower than 6 and purifying the resulting glutathione. The process allows to obtain glutathione with high yields and relatively low costs.