Spatial and seasonal distributions of Callinectes danae (Decapoda, Portunidae) in Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil

The spatial and seasonal distributions of Callinectes danae Smith, 1869, in Ubatuba Bay, São Paulo, Brazil, were investigated as a part of a broad study on the general biology of portunids along the northern coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Swimming crabs were collected during one year, from September 1995 to August 1996, along eight transects determined according to local physiographic features. Three replicate trawls were performed monthly at each transect. Depth. salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, organic matter content, and texture of the sediment were measured. Callinectes danae individuals were concentrated in shallow water close to the discharge of estuaries where the bottom is composed of fine and very fine sand. The species was more abundant in the warmer months. During the study period, C. danae exhibited continuous reproduction with a peak of reproductive intensity in June. Within this area, some sites are particularly favorable for C. danae establishment due to a combination of factors and prevailing local conditions.

Anurans of a seasonally dry tropical forest: Morro do Diabo State Park, São Paulo state, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phlebotomine (Diptera: Psychodidae) survey and some considerations about epidemiological aspects of canine leishmaniasis in Rio Claro city, São Paulo, Brazil.

Between 2000 and 2004, 170 sand flies were captured in urban or peri-urban areas of the Rio Claro city, SP, Brazil. Nyssomyia neivai, the main LTA vector species in São Paulo territory, corresponded to 124 specimens (72,94%) of the total number of captured insects. Incidence of American Cutaneous (LTA) and Visceral leishmaniasis (LVA) is increasing in human and dogs in São Paulo State. Rio Claro city is located in the center-east region of the State. During 2001 and 2003, two cases of alochtonus canine LVA and an autochthonous case of canine LTA were locally diagnosed. Results indicate the risk of LVA establishment in this region. Possible role of alternative vectors in leishmaniasis transmission is discussed.

Distribution of Rhodophyta in streams from São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil

Distribution of Rhodophyta was investigated in 172 stream segments, which were sampled from May to October in 1992-1993 and 1996-1997 in six natural regions (parts of biomes or geological areas) of São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Red algae occurred in 60.5 % of stream segments sampled, a high frequency in comparison with other major surveys in the world (18-65 %). 17 species of freshwater red algae were found, of which the most widespread was Batrachospermum delicatulum occurring in 17 sites of five regions. The proportion of morphological types was as follows: gelatinous filaments (62.5 %), free filaments (19 %), tufts (12.5 %) and crusts (6 %); all but free filaments can be considered as having mechanisms to tolerate stress provoked by current velocity. No significant difference was found between the frequency distributions of variables measured for all streams and for those with red algae. Rhodophyta occurred under the following conditions (means): temperature (19.0 degrees C), current velocity (48 cm s(-1)), specific conductance (74 mu S cm(-1)), turbidity (8 NTU), oxygen (67.3 %) and pH (6.9 +/- 0.7). on the basis of species composition among the regions, the following patterns were evident: 1) the number of red algal species per region ranged from 1 to 10; 2) the highest proportion of sites with red algae (65-73 %) was found in hard water regions and in Atlantic rainforest, whereas the lowest (50 %) was found in tropical rainforest; 3) more than half of the species were exclusive from a single region, whereas the higher proportion of exclusive species was in the subtropical rainforest (50 %). No combination of stream variables was clearly associated with the occurrence of red algae for the regions as a whole. Species composition for streams and rivers of São Paulo State revealed higher similarities with other tropical regions and had few species in common with freshwater red algal floras of other continents.

New aerophytic morphospecies of Nostoc (Cyanobacteria) from São Paulo State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Hydrochemical investigations on waste disposal areas of industrial activities at Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil

Groundwaters; and surface waters around two waste disposal areas at Rio Claro municipality, nearly in the center of São Paulo State, Brazil, were chemically analysed with the purpose of evaluating the influence on the water quality of the chemicals released without any care with the environment and using a prevention system for the containment of environmentally polluting substances.

Abundance, habitat use and diet of Callicebus nigrifrons Spix (Primates, Pitheciidae) in Cantareira State Park, São Paulo, Brazil

Entre abril de 2005 e maio de 2006, através de censos seguindo os pressupostos da metodologia de transecção linear, foram estimadas a densidade populacional e abundância de Callicebus nigrifrons Spix, 1823 (Pitheciidae) no Parque Estadual da Cantareira, Estado de São Paulo, Sudeste do Brasil (23°23'42S, 46°35'27W). Com um esforço amostral de 275,8 km de censos, os sauás foram a segunda espécie de primata mais abundante, apresentando um índice de abundância de 1,4 grupos para cada 10 km percorridos e uma estimativa de densidade de 12,21 ind./km² (variando de 8,45 a 17,63 ind./km²). A coleta de dados auxiliares durante os censos possibilitou a verificação da dieta e uso do hábitat pelos grupos de Callicebus, e os resultados evidenciaram uma relativa adaptabilidade à ambientes perturbados.

Prevalence of precancerous skin lesions and non-melanoma skin cancer in Japanese-Brazilians in Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil

Manifestações cutâneas pré-neoplásicas e neoplásicas em asiáticos são infreqüentes e pouco documentadas. O Brasil possui o maior contingente de imigrantes japoneses e 70% deles residem no Estado de São Paulo. A prevalência dessas lesões em nipo-brasileiros é desconhecida. O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a prevalência de queratoses actínicas e tumores cutâneos não melanomas em nipo-brasileiros acima de trinta anos de 1ª geração ou 2ª geração, sem miscigenação, residentes na cidade de Bauru, no ano de 2006. Dos 567 nipo-brasileiros submetidos a exame dermatológico, diagnosticou-se queratose actínica em 76 pacientes, com média de idade de 68,9 anos, e único carcinoma basocelular em paciente do sexo feminino de 39 anos. No Japão, a prevalência de queratose actínica é de 0,76% a 5% e a incidência de tumores cutâneos não melanomas é de 1,2 a 5,4/100 mil. Os nipo-brasileiros de Bauru apresentaram prevalência de 13,4% de queratoses actínicas e idade mais precoce de aparecimento. Proximidade com o Equador e atividades rurais contribuem para esses achados. A presença de melanose solar demonstrou risco 1,9 vez maior de desenvolver queratose actínica.

Influence of biosolids rate on chemical properties of an oxisol in São Paulo, Brazil

Organic residues may cause major health and environmental problems. This is the case in our study area, where more than 10 billion L per year of residential and industrial waste are produced. Land application of biosolids can be an economical solution by recycling waste and can provide valuable fertilizer if used correctly. The aim of this work was to study the effect of biosolids on the chemical properties of an Oxisol. The experiment was located at Ilha Solteira northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil. The soil was cropped to Sorghum bicolor.The field experimental design consisted of random blocks with six treatments and four replications of each treatment. Biosolids were surface applied to four treatments at rates of 5, 10, 20, and 40 Mg ha(-1) on a dry matter basis; in addition, a treatment with mineral fertilizer and a control were included. One year after biosolids application, soil samples were taken at 0-10, 10-20, and 20-40 cm. Organic matter content (Walkley-Black) and pH (CaCl2) were routinely determined. Cation exchange capacity, exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K), and P were determined by exchange resin extraction. No significant differences in any of the analyzed properties were found below the 20 cm depth. Extractable phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) increased with increasing biosolids rate in the top 20 cm, whereas calcium (Ca) and (Ma) magnesium content were not significantly influenced by biosolids. Soil pH decreased with increasing biosolids application. The sewage sludge application did not influence the sorghum production in the first year of culture, under unfavorable soil moisture conditions, but it influenced the dry matter.

Impact of Z-R relationship on flow estimates in central São Paulo

Mean areal radar rainfall over catchments in the State of São Paulo is an operational product under development by the Meteorological Research Institute - IPMet. A pilot project is being carried out which focuses on the important Corumbatai River basin, under surveillance by the IPMet-operated Bauru radar. Previous work on the project explored the relative impact of factors like time resolution of radar data and reflectivity to rain-rate conversion relationships, when the relevance of the latter was verified. This paper deals with the stratification of those relationships by daily intervals and its impact on flow estimates. Daily values of radar mean rainfall using gauges and different conversion relationships are plotted against the corresponding flow at the basin outlet. Flow estimates derived by applying the rainfall from the different relationships to a previously obtained rainfall-runoff curve for the basin is compared to the historical hydrograph. Preliminary results suggest stratification has hydrological significance.

Spider assemblages in widely-separated patches of cerrado in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Brazilian cerrado is a biologically-rich, poorly understood, yet rapidly disappearing habitat. Composition of the spider assemblages from areas of cerrado from three separate sites in the State of São Paulo, Brazil were sampled by beating the canopies and adjacent shrubs of three Myrcia (Myrtaceae; "myrtle") tree species. These produced a total of 859 spiders 'belonging to 21 families and 75 species. The most undisturbed and densest cerrado habitat had the largest number and greatest diversity of spider species, encompassing stalkers, ambushers, space web-weavers, and foliage runners. The other two areas were dominated by foliage runners. Spider distribution in this natural and complex habitat was evaluated by classifying the samples into 12 habitat/microhabitat groups according to local of the patch, tree species, and microhabitat (target tree or adjacent shrub). Correspondence analysis was used for ordination of species and groups based on their abundance. Environmental factors such as patches type (p=0.027) and plant species (p=0.046) had significant effects in explaining the ordination. Canonical correspondence analysis was applied for relating the patterns in species richness and/or abundance to the significant environmental factors. A comparison of the results showed that the family composition among the patches is rather similar, and there is a tendency of spiders species overlap an interregional level (patches effect, p=0.027). However, the most similar spider assemblages living on woody vegetation occurred in Myrcia venulosa and Myrcia guianensis at São Carlos and Pirassununga, demonstrating an interregional similarity (plant species effect, p=0.046) that indicates an association between spiders and particular vegetation.

Geothermal investigations in an area of induced seismic activity, northern São Paulo State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Pheno and genotyping of Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from bovine milk samples from São Paulo State, Brazil

In the present study, 87 Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from milk samples of 87 cows with mastitis in 6 different municipal districts of 2 regions of São Paulo State, Brazil, were compared pheno and genotypically. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis of the strains was performed, and PCR was carried out to detect genes for a number of staphylococcal cell surface proteins, exoproteins, and 3 classes of agr genes. Nine distinct S. aureus lineages (LA-LI) were identified by PFGE. The lineages LA and LE, which accounted together for 63 strains (72.2%), were prevalent and had been collected from all of the 6 municipal districts, indicating a broad geographic distribution of these lineages; LB, LC, LD, LF, LG, LH, and LI, however, were isolated sporadically and accounted for 24 strains (27.8%). Some characteristics, like penicillin resistance and the presence of cap8 and agr class II genes, were associated with the prevalent lineages (LA and LE), and penicillin susceptibility and the presence of cna and cap5 genes were associated with sporadic lineages. According to the present results, some S. aureus lineages possess a combination of genes that confer the propensity to cause and disseminate infection, and only a limited number of clones are responsible for the cases of bovine mastitis on the various farms. © 2004 NRC Canada.

Prevalence of dental fluorosis in Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in scholars aging 12 to 15 years old, residents in the city of Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: 1318 volunteers were enrolled in this study and examined in 18 public schools of the State of São Paulo. The examinations were performed in the schools' court by three dentists (with a Master's degree in Public Health), after toothbrushing supervised by another dentist. The teeth were dried with cotton pellets and examined under natural light by visual inspection, using an explorer as recommended by the WHO, a plane mirror and a tongue depressor. The Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TF) index was used for rating fluorosis. Intra and inter-examiner reproducibility was calculated and data were submitted to descriptive analysis. Results: Approximately 36% of the children presented dental fluorosis, of which 28% was diagnosed as TF1 while the remaining received scores between TF2 and TF4. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental fluorosis in Bauru is within the expected range, based on previous studies. Although fluoride is an important resource for caries control, its use must be adequate to the needs of each specific population.

Identification of races of Bremia lactucae in São Paulo, Brazil

Lettuce, Lactuca sativa, is the most important leafy vegetable in the diet of the Brazilian people. However, the lettuce crop is susceptible to downy mildew disease which is caused by the fungus Bremia lactucae. Downy mildew is most troublesome during winter conditions in regions with mild temperatures. This coincides with the time for growing large quantities of lettuce. The high cost of cultivation and the infection of downy mildew in the winter, just when market prices are low, provides an economic challenge for Brazilian growers. The objective of this study was to identify the races of Bremia lactucae that occur in the growing regions of São Paulo during 2004. The study was conducted in the Laboratory of Vegetable Crop Genetics in the Department of Crop Production of the Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences - UNESP, Jaboticabal Campus. In the present study, 92 isolates of B. lactucae were identified from São Paulo. The isolates were shown to display mainly a Sextet code 63/63/51/00 behavior, characterizing the race with regard to coverage and economic importance. The genes that confer resistance accounting for this behavior are DM 17, DM 18 and DM 38. Their use is recommended as sources of resistance to downy mildew in lettuce breeding programs.