Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli serogroups O157, O111 and O113 in feces, water and milk samples from dairy farms

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

Carbohydrate Composition and Water-Stable Aggregation of an Oxisol as Affected by Crop Sequence under No-Till

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

Crystallization of SiO2-CaO-Na2O Glass Using Sugarcane Bagasse Ash as Silica Source

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

Detection of nontuberculous mycobacteria from water buffalo raw milk in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Virulence characteristics and epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersiniae other than Y-pseudotuberculosis and Y-pestis isolated from water and sewage

Aims: To determine the species, bio-sero-phagetypes, antimicrobial drug resistance and also the pathogenic potential of 144 strains of Yersinia spp. isolated from water sources and sewage in Brazil.Methods and Results: the 144 Yersinia strains were characterized biochemically, serologically and had their antibiotic resistance and phenotypic virulence markers determined by microbiological and serological standard techniques. The Y. enterocolitica strains related to human diseases were also tested for the presence of virulence genes, by the PCR technique. The isolates were classified as Y. enterocolitica, Y. intermedia, Y. frederiksenii, Y. kristensenii and Yersinia biochemically atypical. The 144 isolates belonged to various bio-serogroups. Half of the strains showed resistance to three or more drugs. The Y. enterocolitica strains related to human diseases exhibited phenotypic virulence characteristics and virulence genes.Conclusions: Water from various sources and sewage are contaminated with Yersinia spp. in Brasil. Among these bacteria, virulent strains of Y. enterocolitica were found, with biotypes and serogroups related to human diseases.Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first documented description of the occurrence of pathogenic Y. enterocolitica in water sources and sewage in Brazil. The occurrence of virulence strains of Y. enterocolitica shows that the environment is a potential source of human infection by this species in this country.

External control of the public water supply in 29 Brazilian cities

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Using chemical and physical parameters to define the quality of Pardo River water (Botucatu-SP-Brazil)

This paper aims to study the ecological system of the Pardo River, at the source and lower-order passages, which are in the Botucatu area, São Paulo State, Brazil. This study was carried out to determine water quality with some chemical-physical indicators, coliforms, and chemical species of samples taken monthly, 1995/02-1996/01, from eight sampling stations sited along the Pardo River. The results in the river monitoring are discussed based on annual averages, analysis of variance, and compared to Tukey's Studentized Range-HSD, and principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to normalize data to assess association between variables. We can conclude that the variables used are very efficient for identifying and that the dry season shows the worst water quality. These were caused by organic matter, nutrients (originate) from anthropogenic sources (spatial sources) and mainly municipal wastewater, affecting the quality and hydrochemistry of the river water, which have been differentiated and assigned to polluting sources. Meanwhile, the degree of degradation of the Pardo River is low (sewage treatment carried out by the city of Pardinho is efficient), leaving the water of the river suitable for use by the population of Botucatu, after conventional treatment (Conama, Resolucao No. 20, CONAMA, Brazilia DF, 09-23, 1986-the water of the Pardo river is classified as level 03). (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Genotoxicity assessment of water soluble fractions of biodiesel and its diesel blends using the Salmonella assay and the in vitro MicroFlow (R) kit (Litron) assay

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

Cytotoxicity of water-soluble fraction from biodiesel and its diesel blends to human cell lines

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

A thin layer electrochemical cell for disinfection of water contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus

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

The cetacean offal connection: Feces and vomits of spinner dolphins as a food source for reef fishes

At Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, southwest Atlantic, reef fishes associated with spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) were recorded when the cetaceans congregated in a shallow inlet. In the reef waters the dolphins engaged in several behaviors such as resting, aerial displays and other social interactions, as well as eliminative behaviors such as defecating and vomiting. Twelve fish species in seven families were recorded feeding on dolphin offal. The black durgon (Melichthys niger) was the most ubiquitous waste-eater, and its group size was positively and significantly correlated with dolphin group size. The durgons recognized the postures a dolphin adopts prior to defecating or vomiting, and began to converge to an individual shortly before it actually voided. Offal was quickly fed upon, and the fishes concentrated in the area occupied by the dolphins until the latter left the shallows. Since all the recorded offal-feeding species feed on plankton or drifting algae, feeding on cetacean droppings may be regarded as a switch from foraging on drifting organisms to foraging on drifting offal, a predictable food source in the inlet. Further instances of this cetacean-fish association are predicted to occur at sites where these mammals congregate over reefs with clear water and plankton-eating fishes.

Water Buffalo Genome Science Comes of Age

The water buffalo is vital to the lives of small farmers and to the economy of many countries worldwide. Not only are they draught animals, but they are also a source of meat, horns, skin and particularly the rich and precious milk that may be converted to creams, butter, yogurt and many cheeses. Genome analysis of water buffalo has advanced significantly in recent years. This review focuses on currently available genome resources in water buffalo in terms of cytogenetic characterization, whole genome mapping and next generation sequencing. No doubt, these resources indicate that genome science comes of age in the species and will provide knowledge and technologies to help optimize production potential, reproduction efficiency, product quality, nutritional value and resistance to diseases. As water buffalo and domestic cattle, both members of the Bovidae family, are closely related, the vast amount of cattle genetic/genomic resources might serve as shortcuts for the buffalo community to further advance genome science and biotechnologies in the species.

Metal fluxes at the sediment-water interface in rivers in the Turvo/Grande drainage basin, So Paulo State, Brazil

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

Evaluation of Lubricating Oil Preparation Procedures for the Determination of Al, Ba, Mo, Si and V by High-Resolution Continuum Source FAAS

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

Compact disks, a new source for gold electrodes. Application to the quantification of copper by PSA

In this work we describe a versatile and very sensitive way for copper quantification by potentiometric stripping analysis using gold electrodes obtained from recordable compact disks (CDs). This new source of electrodes (CDtrodes) shown similar performance to the commercial gold electrodes with superior versatility and lower cost. Recordable CDs contains a highly pure gold film with thickness between 50 and 100 nm and superficial area of ca. 100 cm(2). The working electrode developed was used successfully in stationary cell and many experimental parameters have been optimized. For copper, the detection limit attained was 30 ng L-1 (600 s deposition time) with remarkable precision (standard deviation of 1.8 % for 20 repetitive measurements using 25 mu gL(-1) of copper with 60 s of deposition time). The gold electrode developed was used for analysis of copper in sugar cane spirits and tap water samples. The results were compared with those obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy.