Mites from Cerrado fragments and adjacent soybean crops: does the native vegetation help or harm the plantation?

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

Estimating the concentration of gold nanoparticles incorporated on natural rubber membranes using multi-level starlet optimal segmentation

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

A Sampling Plan for Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on a Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Plantation

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effects of litter manipulation in a tropical Eucalyptus plantation on leaching of mineral nutrients, dissolved organic nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon

Although many studies have shown that soil solution chemistry can be a reliable indicator of biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems, the effects of litter manipulations on the fluxes of dissolved elements in gravitational soil solutions have rarely been investigated. We estimated the fluxes of NH4-N, NO3-N, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) over the first two years after re-planting Eucalyptus trees in the coastal area of Congo. Two treatments were replicated in two blocks after clear-cutting 7-year-old stands: in treatment R, all the litter above the mineral soil was removed before planting, and in a double slash (DS) treatment, the amount of harvest residues was doubled. The soil solutions were sampled down to a depth of 4 m and the water fluxes were estimated using the Hydrus 1D model parameterized from soil moisture measurements in 4 plots. Isotopic and spectroscopic analytical techniques were used to assess the changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM) properties throughout the transfer in the soil. The first year after planting, the fluxes of NH4-N, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl and DOC in the topsoil of the DS treatment were 2-5 times higher than in R, which showed that litter was a major source of dissolved nutrients. Nutrient fluxes in gravitational solutions decreased sharply in the second year after planting, irrespective of the soil depth, as a result of intense nutrient uptake by Eucalyptus trees. Losses of dissolved nutrients were noticeably low in these Eucalyptus plantations despite a low cation exchange capacity, a coarse soil texture and large amounts of harvest residues left on-site at the clear cut in the DS treatment. All together, these results clarified the strong effect of litter manipulation observed on eucalypt growth in Congolese sandy soils. DOM fluxes, as well as changes in delta C-13, C:N and aromaticity of DOM throughout the soil profile showed that the organic compounds produced in the litter layer were mainly consumed by microorganisms or retained in the topsoil. Below a depth of 15 cm, most of the DOC and the DON originated from the first 2 cm of the soil and the exchanges between soil solutions and soil organic matter were low. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Production and characterization of natural rubber-Ca/P blends for biomedical purposes

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Natural-rubber-based flexible microfluidic device

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

Protocylindrocorpus brasiliensis n. sp. (Diplogastroidea: Cylindrocorporidae) associated with the ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus parallelus (f.) (Curculionidae: Platypodinae) in para rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis)

Protocylindrocorpus brasiliensis n. sp. (Diplogastroidea: Cylindrocorporidae) is described from reproductive stages removed from galleries of the ambrosia beetle, Euplatypus parallelus (F.) (Curculionidae: Platypodinae) in Para rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) in Brazil. This is the first record of the genus Protocylindrocorpus from the Neotropics. Males of P. brasiliensis are quite striking because their long spicules extend up to 72% of their total body length. The adults exhibit conspecific agglutination where they congregate in a slimy substance that serves to maintain them in a coherent group for mating. Some of the adults were infected by fungal and protozoan pathogens, implying that disease plays a role in regulating natural populations. The discovery of P. brasiliensis provides new information on nematode structure, behavior, and ecology.

Estado nutricional e avaliação de caracteres secundários da produção em dois clones jovens de seringueira em São José do Rio Preto, SP

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

Evaluation of modified silica nanoparticles in carboxylated nitrile rubber nanocomposites

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

Evaluation of stryphnodendron sp. release using natural rubber latex membrane as carrier

Natural rubber latex from Hevea brasiliensis has interesting characteristics related to this work such as: it is easy to manipulate, low cost, can stimulate the natural angiogenesis, is a biocompatible material and presents high mechanical resistance. The aim of this study was to develop a novel sustained delivery system for Stryphnodendron sp. based on Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) membranes and to study the Stryphnodendron sp. delivery system behavior. Stryphnodendron sp., commonly known as barbatimao is extensively used in folk medicine for the treatment of diarrhoea, gynaecological problems and for healing wounds. The stem bark of this species is mentioned in the Brazilian Pharmacopeia with a content of at least 20% of tannins. Previous studies showed significant cicatrizant properties, anti-inflammatory activity and gastric anti-ulcerogenic effects for the stem bark crude extract. One possible way to accelerate the tissue repair process, it was incorporated the Stryphnodendron sp. extract in NRL membranes. Stryphnodendron sp extract was incorporated into the NRL, by mixing it in solution for in vitro protein delivery experiments. Results show that the NRL membrane can release Stryphnodendron sp. for up to 49.89% of its Stryphnodendron sp. content for up 400 h. The kinetics of the extract release could be fitted with double exponential function, with two characteristic times of 0.78 and 133.22 h. In this study, we demonstrated that the induced angiogenesis provided by NRL membranes combined with a controlled release of extract is relevant for biomedical applications.

Casearia sylvestris Swartz Extract Release Using Natural Rubber Latex Biomembranes as Carrier

The Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) from Hevea brasiliensis has shown promise in biomedical applications due to its low cost, easy handling, mechanical properties and biocompatibility, being used for bone regeneration and wound healing due to its natural stimulus to angiogenesis. The aim of this work was to incorporate Casearia sylvestris Sw. extract in NRL biomembranes and study its release behavior. The complex membrane-extract has as object of study a new approach of using C. sylvestris extract in the treatment of wounds, for possessing antiseptic activity, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. The C. sylvestris species (Salicaceae), popularly known as "guaçatonga", presents great distribution and is used in folk medicine as antiulcer, wound healing, anti-snake venom, properties which have been proven and related to clerodane diterpenes (casearins A-X). The release rate of C. sylvestris compounds from extract-membrane complex was monitored and analyzed using the method of optical spectroscopy (UV-VIS). The release varied with temperature ranging from 14 to 33 days, releasing more than 90%, with an interesting and promising biomedical application, such as wound healing and burns.

Natural rubber latex: Study of a novel carrier for Casearia sylvestris swartz delivery

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

Ciprofloxacin Release Using Natural Rubber Latex Membranes as Carrier

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Natural rubber/leather waste composite foam: A new eco-friendly material and recycling approach

This article describes a new approach of recycling the leather waste (shavings) using it as filler in natural rubber foams composites. The foams were prepared using different amounts of leather waste (0-60 parts per hundred of rubber) and submitted to morphological (SEM microscopy) and mechanical analyses (cyclic stress-strain compression). The increase of leather shavings on the composite causes an increase of viscosity in the mixture, which reflects in the foaming process. This results in smaller and fairly uniform cells. Furthermore, expanded rubber has the biggest cell size, with more than 70% of cell with 1000 mu m, while the composite with the higher concentration of leather has around 80% of total number of cells with 100-400 mu m. The mechanical parameters were found to depend on the leather dust concentration. Moreover, the stiffness rises with the increase of leather shavings; consequently, the compression force for expanded rubber was 0.126 MPa as well as the composite with higher concentration of leather was 7.55 MPa. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41636.

Sugarcane bagasse ash: new filler to natural rubber composite

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