The invasion of five alien species in the Delta do Parnaiba Environmental Protection Area, Northeastern Brazil

Marine biological invasions have been regarded as one of the major causes of native biodiversity loss, with shipping and aquaculture being the leading contributors for the introductions of alien species in aquatic ecosystems. In the present study, five aquatic alien species (one mollusk, three crustaceans and one fish species) were detected during dives, shore searches and from the fisheries on the coast of the Delta do Parnaiba Environmental Protection Area, in the States of Piaui and Maranhao, Northeastern Brazil. The species were the bicolor purse-oyster Isognomon bicolor, the whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei, the giant river prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis hellerii and, the muzzled blenny Omobranchus punctatus. Ballast water (I. bicolor, C. hellerii, and O. punctatus) and aquaculture activities (L. vannamei and M. rosenbergii) in adjacent areas are the most likely vectors of introduction. All exotic species found have potential impact risks to the environment because they are able to compete against native species for resources (food and habitat). Isognomon bicolor share the same habitat and food items with the native bivalve species of mussels and barnacles. Litopenaeus vannamei share the same habitat and food items with the native penaeids such as the pinkspot shrimp Farfantepenaeus brasiliensis, the Southern brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus subtilis, and the Southern white shrimp Litopenaeus schmitti, and in the past few years L. vannamei was responsible for a viral epidemics in the cultivation tanks that could be transmitted to native penaeid shrimps. Charybdis hellerii is also able to cause impacts on the local fisheries as the species can decrease the populations of native portunid crabs which are commercialized in the studied region. Macrobrachium rosenbergii may be sharing natural resources with the Amazon River prawn Macrobrachium amazonicum. Omobranchus punctatus shares habit with the native redlip blenny Ophioblennius atlanticus and other fishes, such as the frillfin goby Bathigobius soporator. Some immediate remedial measures to prevent further introductions from ballast water and shrimp farm ponds should be: (i) to prevent the release of ballast water by ship/vessels in the region; (ii) to reroute all effluent waters from shrimp rearing facilities through an underground or above-ground dry well; (iii) to install adequate sand and gravel filter which will allow passage of water but not livestock; (iv) outdoor shrimp pounds located on floodable land should be diked, and; (v) to promote environmental awareness of those directly involved with ballast water (crews of ship/vessels) and shrimp farms in the region. Rev. Biol. Trop. 58 (3): 909-923. Epub 2010 September 01.

RECK-Mediated Inhibition of Glioma Migration and Invasion

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

Structure of nanoporous zirconia-based powders synthesized by different gel-combustion routes

Zirconia-based ceramics that retain their metastable tetragonal phase at room temperature are widely studied due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. When these materials are prepared from precursor nanopowders with high specific surface areas, this phase is retained in dense ceramic bodies. In this work, we present a morphological study of nanocrystalline ZrO2-2.8 mol% Y2O3 powders synthesized by the gel-combustion method, using different organic fuels - alanine, glycine, lysine and citric acid - and calcined at temperatures ranging from 873 to 1173 K. The nanopore structures were investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering. The experimental results indicate that nanopores in samples prepared with alanine, glycine and lysine have an essentially single-mode volume distribution for calcination temperatures up to 1073 K, while those calcined at 1173 K exhibit a more complex and wider volume distribution. The volume-weighted average of the nanopore radii monotonically increases with increasing calcination temperature. The samples prepared with citric acid exhibit a size distribution much wider than the others. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller technique was used to determine specific surface area and X-ray diffraction, environmental scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were also employed for a complete characterization of the samples.

Synthesis of SnO2 by chemical routes and its use in varistors production

Tin oxide, SnO2. is a very used compound in industry and one of its uses is as varistor. For the current requirements of the technology is necessary a strict control of the chemical purity and the particle size of the raw material; for that reason the great interest that exists at the moment to develop synthesis methods that allow to get these requirements. In this work, ceramic powders of the Sn-Co-Nb-Ti-Al system using the controlled precipitation and polymeric precursor (Pechini) methods were synthesized. The raw material obtained was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (DTA/FG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The sintering samples shown a good varistor behavior with non-linear coefficient (alpha) values similar to 22, and Er 2083 V/cm(2). (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ancestral polymorphism and recent invasion of transposable elements in Drosophila species

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

Infection and apparent invasion of Vero cells by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis probably uses many different mechanisms to establish itself in the host and cause disease. In this work, we assess an in vitro model system which uses cultured mammalian cells to investigate the virulence factors of P. brasiliensis. We were able to demonstrate an invasion process of the yeast form of this fungus in Vero cell cultures. We deduced that the overall invasive process involved three steps: adhesion, followed by invasion of individual epithelial cells and spread to adjacent cells.

Finding best urban routes based on analyses of high level and IOPT Petri net models

This paper presents a tool that combines two kinds of Petri Net analyses to set the fastest routes to one vehicle in a bounded area of traffic urban. The first analysis consists of the discovery of possible routes in a state space generated from an IOPT Petri net model given the initial marking as the vehicle position. The second analysis receives the routes found in the first analysis and calculates the state equations at incidence matrix created from the High Level Petri net model to define the fastest route for each vehicle that arrive in the roads. It was considered the exchange of information between vehicle and infrastructure (V2I) to get the position and speed of all vehicles and support the analyses. With the results obtained we conclude that is possible optimizing the urban traffic flow if this tool is applied to all vehicles in a bounded urban traffic. © 2012 IEEE.

Invasion of differentiated intestinal caco-2 cells is a sporadic property among atypical enteropathogenic escherichia coli strains carrying common intimin subtypes

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

New species of the Pseudancistrus barbatus group (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) with comments on its biogeography and dispersal routes

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

Historic of therapeutic efficacy of albendazol sulphoxide administered in different routes, dosages and treatment schemes, against Taenia saginata in cattle experimentally infected

The present study aimed to notify the history of albendazole sulphoxide (ALB-SO) and albendazole (ALBZ) efficacy against Taenia saginata cysticercus (Cysticercus bovis) parasitizing experimentally infected bovines. A total of 11 efficacy trials were performed between the years of 2002 and 2010. In order to perform these trials, animals were individually inoculated with 2 x 104 eggs of T. saginata in each study's day zero (DO). For every trial, a positive control group (untreated infected animals) and a negative control group (animals that were neither infected nor treated) were used. ALB-SO or ALB were administered in the different dosages, in different days of treatments. In a last study with this formulation, this active principle was administered orally, mixed with the mineral supplement, on the 60th DPI, in a dosage of 30 mg/kg. In all trials, on the 100th DPI, all animals were euthanized and submitted to the sequenced slicing of 26 anatomical segments (fragments of approximately five millimeters) for the survey of T. saginata cysticercus. With the obtained results it is possible to verify that in the first trials, conducted in 2002, ALB-SO reached, independently of dosage and treatment scheme, efficacies superior to 98% (arithmetic means). The trials conducted in 2005 (2.5 mg/kg on the 30th, 60th, and 90th DPI) obtained values of efficacy all inferior to 60%. In 2008, the trials with 2.5 and 7.7 mg/kg demonstrated efficacy values inferior to 40%, for both dosages and treatment schemes (30th/60th/90th DPI and 60th DPI). When this formulation was administered orally on the dosage of 30 mg/kg on the 60th DPI, the efficacy against T. saginata cysticercus reached 88.28%. ALB administered orally showed efficacy values of 0.0%, 29.88% and 28.64% in the dosages of 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg, respectively, using the treatment schemes described above for each dosage. Based on the results of these trials, conducted in an eight year period (2002-2010) using the sequenced slicing method for evaluating the efficacy of the aforementioned formulations against T. saginata cysticercus, it is possible to observe that, amongst the few molecules used in the chemotherapic treatment against T. saginata larvae, ALB-SO, administered in varied routes, dosages and treatment schemes, the studies conducted in 2008, 2009, and 2010, have a low therapeutic efficacy against C bovis in Brazil, while ALBZ had insignificant efficacy values against T. saginata larvae parasitizing experimentally infected bovines. However, future studies using molecular biology will be necessary to assess whether the difference on the efficacy of the ALB-SO can be related to strain or another specific factor. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cytotoxic, biochemical and genotoxic effects of biodiesel produced by different routes on ZFL cell line

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Acaricidal effects of fluazuron (2.5 mg/kg) and a combination of fluazuron (1.6 mg/kg) + ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg), administered at different routes, against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus parasitizing cattle

The present study aimed to evaluate the acaricidal efficacy of fluazuron (2.5 mg/kg), administered as a pour-on, in comparison to an injectable formulation containing fluazuron (1.6 mg/kg) + ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg), against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in naturally and experimentally infested cattle. Two studies were conducted with different tick strains, one with artificial infestations (Stall Test, using leight animals per group) and one with natural infestations (utilizing ten animals per group): In both studies, the animals were randomized, according to average tick counts performed on days -3, -2 and -1, into four groups: T01, negative control (saline solution); T02, pour-on fluazuron (2.5 mg/kg); T03: subcutaneous fluazuron (1.6 mg/kg) + ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg); and T04 subcutaneous ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg). Based on obtained results, and considering the utilized tick strains, it was possible to conclude that the pour-on fluazuron (2.5 mg/kg) formulation demonstrated high acaricidal efficacy, with protection periods ranging from 49 to 77 days against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. On the other hand, for the injectable fluazuron (1.6 mg/kg) + ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg) formulation, it was not possible to observe elevated anti-R. (B.) microplus effect on both artificial and experimental infestation studies. Results observed for this combination were similar or inferior to those obtained by subcutaneous ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg). Future studies with this formulation containing fluazuron (1.6 mg/kg) + ivermectin (0.63 mg/kg), regarding pharmacokinetic and/or bioavailability profiles, or even studies analyzing both this active principles separately, are needed, seeking to better understand the effects of such combination against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus parasitizing cattle. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.