Aquatic macroinvertebrates survey and assessment of two artificial reservoirs into conservation units from the Southeast Region of Brazil

This study aims to inventory and assess the aquatic macroinvertebrates fauna in two artificial reservoirs into conservation units with differences regarding conservation level and to anthropogenic impacts. The samplings were carried out in Caetetus Ecological Station and Bauru City Zoological Park, where some physical and chemical variables also were measured. The results obtained indicated that the Caetetus Ecological Station is more effective in the conservation of the diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates compared to Bauru City Zoological Park. These results can be attributed to the strong anthropogenic impact suffered by the reservoir in Bauru and demonstrate the importance of these areas in maintaining the diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates community.

Relation between green spaces and bird community structure in an urban area in Southeast Brazil

Increased urbanization typically leads to an increase in abundance of a few species and a reduction in bird species richness. Understanding the structure of biotic communities in urban areas will allow us to propose management techniques and to decrease conflicts between wild species and human beings. The objective of this study was to describe the structure of the bird community in an urban ecosystem. The study was carried out in the city of Taubaté in southeastern Brazil. Point-counts were established in areas with different levels of tree density ranging from urban green spaces to predominantly built-up areas. We looked for a correlation between the richness/abundance of birds and the size of the area surveyed, the number of houses, the number of tree species and the number of individual trees. The results of multiple regression showed that bird richness had a direct relationship with vegetation complexity. The abundance and diversity of tree species were better predictors of bird species than the number of houses and size of the area surveyed. We discuss implications of this study for conservation and management of bird diversity in urban areas, such as the need to increase green areas containing a large diversity of native plant species. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

The impact of adding SBAS data on GPS data processing in southeast of Brazil: Preliminary result

Nowadays, L1 SBAS signals can be used in a combined GPS+SBAS data processing. However, such situation restricts the studies over short baselines. Besides of increasing the satellite availability, SBAS satellites orbit configuration is different from that of GPS. In order to analyze how these characteristics can impact GPS positioning in the southeast area of Brazil, experiments involving GPS-only and combined GPS+SBAS data were performed. Solutions using single point and relative positioning were computed to show the impact over satellite geometry, positioning accuracy and short baseline ambiguity resolution. Results showed that the inclusion of SBAS satellites can improve the accuracy of positioning. Nevertheless, the bad quality of the data broadcasted by these satellites limits their usage. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.

Zircon fission track and U-Pb dating methods applied to São Paulo and Taubaté Basins located in the southeast Brazil

Zircon samples from the Cenozoic São Paulo and Taubaté Basins and Mantiqueira Mountain Range (southeast Brazil) were concomitantly dated by zircon Fission Track Method (FTM) and in situ U-Pb dating method. While FTM detrital-zircon data are ideally used to provide low-temperature information, U-Pb single detrital grain ages record the time of zircon formation in igneous or high grade metamorphic environments. This methodology may be used to study the possible sources of the basins sediments. The results suggest that the São Paulo Basin is composed of sediments from just one source, the Mantiqueira Mountain Range. On the other hand, the Taubaté Basin presents further sediment sources besides the Mantiqueira Mountain Range. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Occurrence of mycobacteria in bovine milk samples from both individual and collective bulk tanks at farms and informal markets in the southeast region of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background: Mycobacterium spp. is one of the most important species of zoonotic pathogens that can be transmitted from cattle to humans. The presence of these opportunistic, pathogenic bacteria in bovine milk has emerged as a public-health concern, especially among individuals who consume raw milk and related dairy products. To address this concern, the Brazilian control and eradication program focusing on bovine tuberculosis, was established in 2001. However, bovine tuberculosis continues to afflict approximately 1,3 percent of the cattle in Brazil. In the present study, 300 samples of milk from bovine herds, obtained from both individual and collective bulk tanks and informal points of sale, were cultured on Löwenstein-Jensen and Stonebrink media. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests and restriction-enzyme pattern analysis were then performed on the colonies exhibiting phenotypes suggestive of Mycobacterium spp., which were characterized as acid-fast bacilli.Results: Of the 300 bovine milk samples that were processed, 24 were positively identified as Mycobacterium spp.Molecular identification detected 15 unique mycobacterial species: Mycobacterium bovis, M. gordonae, M. fortuitum, M. intracellulare, M. flavescens, M. duvalii, M. haemophilum, M. immunogenum, M. lentiflavum, M. mucogenicum, M. novocastrense, M. parafortuitum, M. smegmatis, M. terrae and M. vaccae. The isolation of bacteria from the various locations occurred in the following proportions: 9 percent of the individual bulk-tank samples, 7 percent of the collective bulk-tank samples and 8 percent of the informal-trade samples. No statistically significant difference was observed between the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in the three types of samples collected, the milk production profiles, the presence of veterinary assistance and the reported concerns about bovine tuberculosis prevention in the herds.Conclusion: The microbiological cultures associated with PCR-based identification tests are possible tools for the investigation of the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk samples. Using these methods, we found that the Brazilian population may be regularly exposed to mycobacteria by consuming raw bovine milk and related dairy products. These evidences reinforces the need to optimize quality programs of dairy products, to intensify the sanitary inspection of these products and the necessity of further studies on the presence of Mycobacterium spp. in milk and milk-based products. © 2013 Franco et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Estimates of hourly diffuse radiation on tilted surfaces in southeast of brazil

The global radiation incident on a tilted surfaces consists of components direct, diffuse and reflected from the ground. On a hourly database, the direct radiation can be calculated by geometric projections (ratio of the incidence angle to the solar zenith angle). The reflected radiation has a small effect on calculations and may be calculated with an isotropic model. Both components presents dependence of measures in incidence or horizontal surface. The great difficulty is to evaluate the diffuse radiation by variations of circumsolar, brightness horizontal, isotropic and anisotropic subcomponents. This study evaluated twenty models to estimate hourly diffuse radiation incident on tilted surfaces at 12.85° (latitude - 10°), 22.85° (latitude) and 32.85° (latitude + 10°) facing to North, under different cloudiness sky conditions, in Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil (22°53' S, 48°26' W and 786 m above the mean sea level). In contrast, models for estimating the diffuse component show major differences, which justify the validation for local calibrations. There is a decrease of the maximum total radiation scattered with increasing atmospheric transmissivity and inclination angle. The best results are obtained by anisotropic models: Ma and Iqbal, Hay, Reindl et al. and Willmott; isotropic: Badescu and Koronakis, and the Circumsolar model. The increase of the inclination angle allows for a reduction in the performance of statistical parametric models for estimating the hourly diffuse radiation.

Influência do substrato no cultivo e na composição química do cogumelo Pleurotus florida

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Serologic survey of West Nile virus in horses from Central-West, Northeast and Southeast Brazil

Processo FAPESP: 08/50167-6

Leptospira spp. infection in sheep herds in southeast Brazil

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

Rn-222, Rn-220 and other dissolved gases in mineral waters of southeast Brazil

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

Simple agrometeorological models for estimating Guineagrass yield in Southeast Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Nematode resistance to ivermectin (630 and 700 mu g/kg) in cattle from the Southeast and South of Brazil

Two high doses of ivermectin (630 mu g/kg and 700 mu g/kg) that are sold commercially in Brazil were evaluated in dose-and-slaughter trials with 144 naturally nematode-infected cattle from eight regions within the states of Minas Gerias, Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. Treatment groups were based on fecal egg counts 1, 2, and 3 days before treatment; all animals studied had a minimum egg count of at least 500 eggs per gram of feces (EPG). Post-mortem analyses were conducted on day 14. The highest levels of resistance to ivermectin were found for Haemonchus placei, Cooperia punctata and Oesophagostomum radiatum; all populations of H. placei were resistant to the 630 mu g/kg dose, and 67% were resistant to 700 mu g/kg; 86% of C. punctata were resistant to the 630 mu g/kg dose, and 33% were resistant to 700 mu g/kg. A combined analysis revealed that 57% of O. radiatum were resistant to the lower dose of ivermectin. H. placei, C. punctata and O. radiatum, in order, were the nematode populations with the highest indices of resistance, whereas Trichostrongylus axei was the most susceptible to 630 and 700 mu g/kg dosages of ivermectin. The results of helminthic resistance to ivermectin for different populations of H. placei and C. punctata described in the present study support previous literature data, in which a small decrease in the average parasitic burden of C. punctata and a consequent increase of H. placei were observed in cattle from the Southeast, South and Center-West regions of Brazil. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurements and modeling of reactive nitrogen deposition in southeast Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influência da fase I de compostagem e da esterilização do composto no cultivo de duas linhagens do Pleurotus ostreatus var. Florida

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA