CORRELATION BETWEEN FLOWERING, FRUCTIFICATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES IN Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil, SOLANACEAE

Solanum lycocarpum (lobeira) is a typical and abundant species of brazilian Cerrado, which occupies mainly surrounding disturbed areas. It has interesting characteristics from the point of view of reproductive biology, that probably are favoring the large occupation of habitats by the species. Based on the fact that the species produces flowers and fruit during all the year, the present study had the purpose to verify the association between flower and fruit production with environmental variables (temperature, relative humidity and precipitation), aiming to support future studies referring to reproductive biology and ecology of plant species from Cerrado biome. A population of S. lycocarpum composed of 34 plants in reproductive phase, situated in Morrinhos, south of the State of Goias, Brazil,, was evaluated. All the plants were geographically referenced with a GPS receptor. Observations were made monthly during 13 months (June, 2005 to July, 2006) quantifying open flowers and fruits produced in the intervals between the observations. It was possible suggest high conversion of flowers in fruits. The Spearman rank correlation showed positive correlation of flower number with precipitation and relative humidity. Fruit number was not correlated with the environmental variables.

Chlorophyll a fluorescence and ultrastructural changes in chloroplast of water hyacinth as indicators of environmental stress

Chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to assess the stress conditions in water hyacinth along the Paraiba do Sul River (PSR), an important River in southeastern Brazil. The data were obtained at the end of the dry season of 2005 and at the end of the wet season of 2006. Changes in F-o and F-m parameters were observed as differentiated responses, depending on the season. Non-photochemical dissipation (qN and NPQ) from plants was greater in the most industrialized region of the PSR in both seasons. However, F-v/F-m for all samples ranged between 0.77 and 0.81, showing that high maximum quantum yield was maintained. Although the F-v/F-m suggests that the plants were exhibiting normal photochemical activities, ultrastructural changes in chloroplasts showed thylakoids disorganization. Plants from the most industrialized region showed non-stacking grana thylakoids disposition. In spite of these alterations, the membrane integrity was maintained, suggesting an adaptation to adjustment to adverse environmental conditions. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Deciphering the weathering processes using environmental mineralogy and geochemistry: Towards an integrated model of laterite and podzol genesis in the Upper Amazon Basin

This article reports major results from collaborative research between France and Brazil on soil and water systems, carried out in the Upper Amazon Basin. It reveals the weathering processes acting in the partly inundated, low elevation plateaus of the Basin, mostly covered by evergreen forest. Our findings are based on geochemical data and mineral spectroscopy that probe the crystal chemistry of Fe and Al in mineral phases (mainly kaolinite, Al- and Fe-(hydr)oxides) of tropical soils (laterites). These techniques reveal crystal alterations in mineral populations of different ages and changes of metal speciation associated with mineral or organic phases. These results provide an integrated model of soil formation and changes (from laterites to podzols) in distinct hydrological compartments of the Amazon landscapes and under altered water regimes. (C) 2010 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Parametric correlation functions to model the structure of permanent environmental (co)variances in milk yield random regression models

The objective of the present study was to estimate milk yield genetic parameters applying random regression models and parametric correlation functions combined with a variance function to model animal permanent environmental effects. A total of 152,145 test-day milk yields from 7,317 first lactations of Holstein cows belonging to herds located in the southeastern region of Brazil were analyzed. Test-day milk yields were divided into 44 weekly classes of days in milk. Contemporary groups were defined by herd-test-day comprising a total of 2,539 classes. The model included direct additive genetic, permanent environmental, and residual random effects. The following fixed effects were considered: contemporary group, age of cow at calving (linear and quadratic regressions), and the population average lactation curve modeled by fourth-order orthogonal Legendre polynomial. Additive genetic effects were modeled by random regression on orthogonal Legendre polynomials of days in milk, whereas permanent environmental effects were estimated using a stationary or nonstationary parametric correlation function combined with a variance function of different orders. The structure of residual variances was modeled using a step function containing 6 variance classes. The genetic parameter estimates obtained with the model using a stationary correlation function associated with a variance function to model permanent environmental effects were similar to those obtained with models employing orthogonal Legendre polynomials for the same effect. A model using a sixth-order polynomial for additive effects and a stationary parametric correlation function associated with a seventh-order variance function to model permanent environmental effects would be sufficient for data fitting.

Brazilian Agriculture and Environmental Legislation: Status and Future Challenges

Brazilian agriculture covers about one-third of the land area and is expected to expand further We assessed the compliance of present Brazilian agriculture with environmental legislation and identified challenges for agricultural development connected to this legislation We found (i) minor illegal land use in protected areas under public administration, (ii) a large deficit in legal reserves and protected riparian zones on private farmland, and large areas of unprotected natural vegetation in regions experiencing agriculture expansion Achieving full compliance with the environmental laws as they presently stand would require drastic changes in agricultural land use, where large agricultural areas are taken out of production and converted back to natural vegetation The outcome of a full compliance with environmental legislation might not be satisfactory due to leakage, where pristine unprotected areas become converted to compensate for lost production as current agricultural areas are reconverted to protected natural vegetation. Realizing the desired protection of biodiversity and natural vegetation, while expanding agriculture to meet food and biofuel demand, may require a new approach to environmental protection New legal and regulatory instruments and the establishment of alternative development models should be considered

Environmental, land-use and economic implications of Brazilian sugarcane expansion 1996-2006

Governments are promoting biofuels and the resulting changes in land use and crop reallocation to biofuels production have raised concerns about impacts on environment and food security. The promotion of biofuels has also been questioned based on suggested marginal contribution to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, partly due to induced land use change causing greenhouse gas emissions. This study reports how the expansion of sugarcane in Brazil during 1996-2006 affected indicators for environment, land use and economy. The results indicate that sugarcane expansion did not in general contribute to direct deforestation in the traditional agricultural region where most of the expansion took place. The amount of forests on farmland in this area is below the minimum stated in law and the situation did not change over the studied period. Sugarcane expansion resulted in a significant reduction of pastures and cattle heads and higher economic growth than in neighboring areas. It could not be established to what extent the discontinuation of cattle production induced expansion of pastures in other areas, possibly leading to indirect deforestation. However, the results indicate that a possible migration of the cattle production reached further than the neighboring of expansion regions. Occurring at much smaller rates, expansion of sugarcane in regions such as the Amazon and the Northeast region was related to direct deforestation and competition with food crops, and appear not to have induced economic growth. These regions are not expected to experience substantial increases of sugarcane in the near future, but mitigating measures are warranted.

Correlation between Environmental Factors and Prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Oysters Harvested in the Southern Coastal Area of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

The presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in 123 oyster samples collected from an estuary on the southern coast of Sao Paulo state, Brazil, was investigated. Of the 123 samples, 99.2% were positive with densities ranging from <3 to 10(5) most probable number (MPN)/g. Densities correlated significantly with water temperature (r = 0.48; P < 0.001) but not with salinity (r = -0.09; P = 0.34). The effect of harvest site on counts was not significant (P > 0.05). These data provide information for the assessment of exposure of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters at harvest.

Evaluation of the role of environmental factors in the human gastrointestinal tract on the behaviour of probiotic cultures of Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Lactobacillus casei LC01 by the use of a semi-dynamic in vitro model

This study evaluated the influence of gastrointestinal environmental factors (pH, digestive enzymes, food components, medicaments) on the survival of Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Lactobacillus casei LC01, using a semi-dynamic in vitro model that simulates the transit of microorganisms through the human GIT. The strains were first exposed to different simulated gastric juices for different periods of time (0, 30, 60 and 120 min), and then to simulated intestinal fluids for zero, 120, 180 and 240 min, in a step-wise format. The number of viable cells was determined after each step. The influence of food residues (skim milk) in the fluids and resistance to medicaments commonly used for varied therapeutic purposes (analgesics, antiarrhythmics, antibiotics, antihistaminics, proton pump inhibitors, etc.) were also evaluated. Results indicated that survival of both cultures was pH and time dependent, and digestive enzymes had little influence. Milk components presented a protective effect, and medicaments, especially anti-inflammatory drugs, influenced markedly the viability of the probiotic cultures, indicating that the beneficial effects of the two probiotic cultures to health are dependent of environmental factors encountered in the human gastrointestinal tract.

Cell surface expression of adhesins for fibronectin correlates with virulence in Sporothrix schenckii

The virulence of four Sporothrix schenckii isolates was compared in a murine model of sporotrichosis, together with the protein pattern of the yeast cell surface and the capacity to bind the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin. Virulence was determined by the mortality rate, fungal burden and histopathology. Two clinical isolates were more virulent for C57BL/6 mice, but no direct correlation was seen between virulence and the clinical or environmental origin of the isolates. The lowest virulence was observed for an isolate recovered from a patient with meningeal sporotrichosis. Although all isolates could effectively disseminate, the dissemination patterns were not similar. Using flow cytometry analysis, we investigated the interaction of all the strains with fibronectin, and showed that the binding capacity correlated with virulence. Western blot analysis of S. schenckii cell wall extracts revealed positive bands for fibronectin in the range of 3792 kDa. The 70 kDa adhesin was also recognized by a protective monoclonal antibody raised against a gp70 antigen of S. schenckii (mAb P6E7). Confocal microscopy confirmed the co-localization of fibronectin and mAb P6E7 on the yeast cell surface. To our knowledge, this is the first report identifying adhesins for fibronectin on the surface of this human pathogen.

Leptospiral glycolipoprotein as a candidate antigen for serodiagnosis of human leptospirosis

Aims: Development of a simple, specific, rapid and inexpensive Dot-ELISA test for early diagnosis of human leptospirosis. Methods and Results: Serum samples from 90 patients diagnosed with leptospirosis were analysed by Dot-ELISA test incorporating Glycolipoprotein (GLP) antigen from serovars Copenhageni and Patoc. Results were compared with those obtained with microscopic agglutination test, currently, the gold standard reference serological method. Serum samples from healthy blood bank donors and patients diagnosed with diseases other than leptospirosis were used as negative controls. The specificities of both GLP-based assays were 97 center dot 1% and 100% with serum samples from patients with other diseases and with serum samples from healthy control group, respectively. With serum samples from patients with acute leptospirosis, sensitivity was 76 center dot 6% with Dot-ELISA Copenhageni and 90 center dot 0% with Dot-ELISA Patoc. With serum samples from patients in convalescence, sensitivity was 100% with both GLP-based assays. Conclusions: This Dot-ELISA provides a candidate antigen for serodiagnosis of leptospirosis during all phases of illness and could be a good alternative method for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis. Significance and Impact of the Study: The Dot-ELISA test is simple, specific, rapid and inexpensive. It is suitable for identifying a large number of samples and, hence, reducing the death rate of patients with leptospirosis.

(1)H NMR determination of beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (L-BMAA) in environmental and biological samples

A nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) method for the determination of beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine (L-BMAA) in environmental aqueous samples was developed and validated. L-BMAA is a neurotoxic modified amino acid that can be produced by cyanobacteria in aqueous environments. This toxin was extracted from samples by means of solid-phase extraction (SPE) and identified and quantified by (1)H NMR without further derivatization steps. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 5 mu g/mL Good inter and intra-assay precision was also observed (relative standard deviation <8.5%) with the use of 4-nitro-DL-phenylalanine as an internal standard (IS). This method of 1H NMR analysis is not time consuming and can be readily utilized to monitor L-BMAA and confirm its presence in environmental and biological samples. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen-1: comparative recognition of different domains by antibodies induced during natural human infection

The Apical Membrane Antigen-1 (AMA-1) of Plasmodium sp. has been suggested as a vaccine candidate against malaria. This protein seems to be involved in merozoite invasion and its extra-cellular portion contains three distinct domains: DI, DII, and DIII. Previously, we described that Plasmodium vivax AMA-1 (PvAMA-1) ectodomain is highly immunogenic in natural human infections. Here, we expressed each domain, separately or in combination (DI-II or DII-III), as bacterial recombinant proteins to map immunodominant epitopes within the PvAMA-1 ectodomain. IgG recognition was assessed by ELISA using sera of P. vivax-infected individuals collected from endemic regions of Brazil or antibodies raised in immunized mice. The frequencies of responders to recombinant proteins containing the DII were higher than the others and similar to the ones observed against the PvAMA-1 ectodomain. Moreover, ELISA inhibition assays using the PvAMA-1 ectodomain as substrate revealed the presence of many common epitopes within DI-II that are recognized by human immune antibodies. Finally, immunization of mice with the PvAMA-1 ectodomain induced high levels of antibodies predominantly to DI-II. Together, our results indicate that DII is particularly immunogenic during natural human infections, thus indicating that this region could be used as part of an experimental sub-unit vaccine to prevent vivax malaria. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A recombinant vaccine based on domain II of Plasmodium vivax Apical Membrane Antigen 1 induces high antibody titres in mice

The Apical Membrane Antigen 1 (AMA-1) is considered a promising candidate for development of a malaria vaccine against asexual stages of Plasmodium. We recently identified domain II (DII) of Plasmodium vivax AMA-1 (PvAMA-1) as a highly immunogenic region recognised by IgG antibodies present in many individuals during patent infection with P. vivax. The present study was designed to evaluate the immunogenic properties of a bacterial recombinant protein containing PvAMA-1 DII. To accomplish this, the recombinant protein was administered to mice in the presence of each of the following six adjuvants: Complete/Incomplete Freund`s Adjuvant (CFA/IFA), aluminium hydroxide (Alum), Quil A, QS21 saponin, CpG-ODN 1826 and TiterMax. We found that recombinant DII was highly immunogenic in BALB/c mice when administered in the presence of any of the tested adjuvants. Importantly, we show that DII-specific antibodies recognised the native AMA-1 protein expressed on the surface of P. vivax merozoites isolated from the blood of infected patients. These results demonstrate that a recombinant protein containing PvAMA-1 DII is immunogenic when administered in different adjuvant formulations, and indicate that this region of the AMA-1 protein should continue to be evaluated as part of a subunit vaccine against vivax malaria. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of the Salmonella/Microsome Microsuspension Assay with the new Microplate Fluctuation Protocol for Testing the Mutagenicity of Environmental Samples

The objective of this study was to compare the responses of the Salmonella/microsome microsuspension assay with the new microplate fluctuation protocol (MPF) for the evaluation of the mutagenic activity of environmental samples. Organic extracts of total particulate atmospheric air samples, surface waters, and effluents were tested in dose-response experiments. The assays were performed with strain TA98 in the absence and presence of S9 mix. Both protocols produced similar results, despite the fact that the maximum score of the MPF is limited to 48 wells, whereas in the regular plate assay it is possible to count up to 1,500 colonies using an automatic counter. Similar sensitivities based on the lowest dose that resulted in a positive response were obtained for both assays. The MPF procedure is less laborious (e.g., all-liquid format, use of multi-channel pipettors) and allows for automation of the pipetting and dispensing steps, thus, reducing time of the analysis which is particularly important in environmental quality monitoring programs or in effect-directed analysis. The results show that the MPF procedure is a promising tool to test environmental samples for mutagenic activity. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 51:31-38, 2010. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Biomonitoring method for the simultaneous determination of cadmium and lead in whole blood by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for assessment of environmental exposure

The aim of this work is to propose a biomonitoring method for the simultaneous determination of Cd and Pb in whole blood by simultaneous electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for assessment of environmental levels. A volume of 200 mu L of whole blood was diluted in 500 mu L of 0.2% (w v(-1)) Triton(R) X-100 + 2.0% (v v(-1)) HNO3. Trichloroacetic acid was added for protein precipitation and the supernatant analyzed. A mixture of 250 mu g W + 200 mu g Rh as permanent and 2.0% (w v(-1)) NH4H2PO4 as co-injected modifiers were used. Characteristic masses and limits of detections (n = 20, 3s) for Cd and Pb were 1.26 and 33 pg and 0.026 mu g L-1 and 0.65 mu g L-1, respectively. Repeatability ranged from 1.8 to 6.8% for Cd and 1.2 to 1.7% for Pb. The trueness of method was checked by the analysis of three Reference Materials: Lyphocheck(R) Whole Blood Metals Control level 1 and Seronorm(TM) Trace Elements in Whole Blood levels 1 and 2. The found concentrations presented no statistical differences at the 95% confidence level. Blood samples from 40 volunteers without occupational exposure were analyzed and the concentrations ranged from 0.13 to 0.71 mu g L-1 (0.32 +/- 0.19 mu g L-1) for Cd and 9.3 to 56.7 mu g L-1 (25.1 +/- 10.8 mu g L-1) for Pb. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.