A ��tica ambiental na produ����o te��rica (disserta����es e teses) em educa����o ambiental no Brasil

Coordena����o de Aperfei��oamento de Pessoal de N��vel Superior (CAPES)

Pol��ticas p��blicas de educa����o ambiental: um estudo sobre a agenda 21 escolar

P��s-gradua����o em Educa����o para a Ci��ncia - FC

Valida����o e aplica����o de m��todo para an��lise de pesticidas em ��gua para consumo humano de dourados (ms) por CLAE/UV e CG/DTE

Indiscriminate and inappropriate use of pesticides in agriculture has been pointed out for increasing health problems and environmental damage. Considering that water resources are the principal destiny of those compounds after application, the present study presents optimization and validation of two simple and effi cient analytical methods for pesticides quantifi cation in both surface and groundwater. Were selected the pesticides more commonly used at Dourados (MS - Brazil), region with intense agricultural activity. Pesticides were preconcentrated by solid-phase extraction using C18 (500 mg) cartridges and then divided in two groups for elution and quantifi cation: 2.4-D and 2.4-DCP were eluted with methanol and quantifi ed by high performance liquid chromatography with ultra-violet detector (HPLC-UV) while atrazine, DIA, DEA, trifl uralin and methyl parathion were eluted with ethylacetate (1:1, v/v) and quantifi ed by gas chromatography with thermionic specifi c detector (GC-TSD). The methods showed satisfactory accuracy (76-107%) and precision (<12%) for the substances analyzed at the fortifi ed levels selected for the study, except for DIA (<51%). Study of pesticide stability also presented good results: C18 cartridges could be stored for at least for 21 days at -20��C with no signs of the compounds degradability. Both methods limits of quantifi cation of the pesticides (0.22 - 0.48 ��g L-1) are in accordance to the levels currently established by the Brazilian national legislation for pesticides in water. Although only the pesticide 2.4-D has been detected in two distinct collection points in the study period of time, this work warns for the requirement of systematical analysis of pesticides presence in water destined to human consume, principally in areas of intense agriculture activity. Such monitoring can provide subsidies for public environmental policies.

Pol��ticas p��blicas em educa����o ambiental no contexto da Confer��ncia Nacional de Educa����o - CONAE 2010

n this paper I pose some questions that I systematized after taking part in a colloquium proposed by the National Conference on Education (CONAE 2010) to discuss the theme ���Environmental Education and Curriculum Contextualization���. Regarding public environmental education policies, I try to indicate some perspectives that are both coherent with what Brazilian educators and environmentalists have been proposing and considered necessary for the consolidation of an Articulated National Education System. I present a synthesis of the environmental education proposals systematized in the CONAE Reference Document, which was designed as a guide to state and local conferences. I make an effort to carry out a preliminary analysis of both the process and the content of the public environmental education proposals systematized in the Essential Documents (Volumes I and II), Thematic Plenary Meeting Documents, and Final Document. Furthermore, I try to present a short synthesis of the prevailing tendencies of educational policies in Brazil in the last decades, pointing out the meaning and need of social activism for the construction of public policies for education, in general, and for environmental education, specifically.

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts in environmental samples from public schools

The number of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts that can be found in random environmental samples is probably low; in addition, these cysts may be confused with Hammondia spp. and Neospora spp. oocysts. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the presence of T. gondii oocysts in the soil of public elementary schools in the northwest area of the state of S��o Paulo, Brazil using mouse bioassays. A comparison was made between the different available bioassay techniques, such as squash, histopathology, immunohistochemistry and indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). T. gondii was isolated by bioassay in mice (squash brain samples) from 22.58%(7/31) of the school playgrounds. Immunohistochemistry and IFAT showed positive results in 32.26% (10/31) and 25.80% (8/31) of samples, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the immunohistochemistry method were 85.71% and 83.33%, respectively. The IFAT results showed 100% sensitivity and 95.83% specificity. The presence of T. gondii was not detected in histopathological examinations. The results of the present study strongly suggest that T. gondii oocysts are widely distributed in elementary public schools in the region that was evaluated, likely constituting the main contamination source for these children. Educational programs directed at reducing environmental contamination with T. gondii would eventually lower the cost of treating humans for clinical toxoplasmosis. It is also possible to conclude that the use of IFAT in mouse bioassays can be recommended without the need for brain cysts research, which is extremely difficult and laborious. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.