Habitat monitoring and genotoxicity in Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Ucididae), as tools to manage a mangrove reserve in southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, the state of São Paulo contains both preserved areas (Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station) and extremely impacted ones (Cubatão Municipality). This study evaluated the concentrations of five metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg) in two mangroves with different levels of anthropogenic impact and the apparent genotoxicity to Ucides cordatus. Water and sediment samples were obtained, and metal concentrations were determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The genotoxic impact was quantified based on the number of micronucleated cells per 1,000 analyzed (MN‰), using hemolymph slides stained with Giemsa. Metal concentrations in water were below the detection limit, except for lead, although no significant difference was observed between the areas (P > 0.05). Sediment from Cubatão had higher concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr, and Cu than sediment from Juréia-Itatins (P < 0.05), but no significant differences in metal concentrations were detected among depth strata of the sediment (P > 0.05). Crabs from Cubatão had a 2.6 times higher mean frequency of micronucleated cells (5.2 ± 1.8 MN‰) than those from Juréia-Itatins (2.0 ± 1.0 MN‰; P < 0.0001). The more-polluted conditions found in the mangrove sediments of Cubatão were reflected in the micronucleus assay, demonstrating their genotoxic effect; however, genetic damage should be attributed to a synergistic effect with other kinds of pollutants previously recorded in different environments of Cubatão. U. cordatus proved to be an excellent bioindicator of mangrove pollution. This study established, for the first time, the normal frequency of MN‰ in a population of this species within an ecological station. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Contamination of wetland soils and floodplain sediments from agricultural activities in the Cerrado Biome (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil)

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

Detection of hormones in surface and drinking water in Brazil by LC-ESI-MS/MS and ecotoxicological assessment with Daphnia magna

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Geoprocessing applied to the assessment of environmental noise: a case study in the city of Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil

Noise mapping has been used as an instrument for assessment of environmental noise, helping to support decision making on urban planning. In Brazil, urban noise is not yet recognized as a major environmental problem by the government. Besides, cities that have databases to drive acoustic simulations, making use of advanced noise mapping systems, are rare. This study sought an alternative method of noise mapping through the use of geoprocessing, which is feasible for the Brazilian reality and for other developing countries. The area chosen for the study was the central zone of the city of Sorocaba, located in So Paulo State, Brazil. The proposed method was effective in the spatial evaluation of equivalent sound pressure level. The results showed an urban area with high noise levels that exceed the legal standard, posing a threat to the welfare of the population.

Antimicrobial resistance of heterotrophic marine bacteria isolated from seawater and sands of recreational beaches with different organic pollution levels in southeastern Brazil: evidences of resistance dissemination

Antimicrobial resistance of marine heterotrophic bacteria to different antimicrobials agents were evaluated in seawater, dry and wet sands from three marine recreational beaches with different pollution levels. In all studied beaches, the greatest frequencies of resistance were found in relation to penicillin. on Gonzaguinha, the most polluted beach, 72.3% of all isolated strains showed simple resistance, whilst 8.33% had multiple resistance. The values found on Ilha Porchat beach, were 70.8% and 6.9% for simple and multiple resistances, respectively. on GuaraA(0), the less polluted beach, only 35.3% of isolated strains had simple resistance. Multiple resistance was not observed. While samples from Gonzaguinha and Ilha Porchat beach showed isolated strains resistant to seven and six different antimicrobial agents, respectively, samples from GuaraA(0) beach were resistant only to penicillin and erytromicin. The positive correlations obtained between the degree of seawater contamination and frequency and variability of bacterial resistance indicate that polluted marine recreational waters and sands are sources of resistant bacteria contributing thus, to the dissemination of bacterial resistance.

A framework for monitoring and runtime recovery of web service-based applications

Service provisioning is a challenging research area for the design and implementation of autonomic service-oriented software systems. It includes automated QoS management for such systems and their applications. Monitoring, Diagnosis and Repair are three key features of QoS management. This work presents a self-healing Web service-based framework that manages QoS degradation at runtime. Our approach is based on proxies. Proxies act on meta-level communications and extend the HTTP envelope of the exchanged messages with QoS-related parameter values. QoS Data are filtered over time and analysed using statistical functions and the Hidden Markov Model. Detected QoS degradations are handled with proxies. We experienced our framework using an orchestrated electronic shop application (FoodShop).

Assessment of liquid disposal originated by uranium enrichment at Aramar Experimental Center São Paulo-Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Non-destructive evaluation tool for monitoring and detection of structural damage by using neural network.

This work studies the capability of generalization of Neural Network using vibration based measurement data aiming at operating condition and health monitoring of mechanical systems. The procedure uses the backpropagation algorithm to classify the input patters of a system with different stiffness ratios. It has been investigated a large set of input data, containing various stiffness ratios as well as a reduced set containing only the extreme ones in order to study generalizing capability of the network. This allows to definition of Neural Networks capable to use a reduced set of data during the training phase. Once it is successfully trained, it could identify intermediate failure condition. Several conditions and intensities of damages have been studied by using numerical data. The Neural Network demonstrated a good capacity of generalization for all case. Finally, the proposal was tested with experimental data.

PCR primed with minisatellite core sequences yields species-specific patterns and assessment of population variability in fishes of the genus Brycon

Minisatellite core sequences were used as single primers in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify genomic DNA in a way similar to the random amplified polymorphic DNA methodology. This technique, known as Directed Amplification of Minisatellite-region DNA, was applied in order to differentiate three neotropical fish species (Brycon orbignyanus, B. microlepis and B. lundii ) and to detect possible genetic variations among samples of the threatened species, B. lundii , collected in two regions with distinct environmental conditions in the area of influence of a hydroelectric dam. Most primers generated species-specific banding patterns and high levels of intraspecific polymorphism. The genetic variation observed between the two sampling regions of B. lundii was also high enough to suggest the presence of distinct stocks of this species along the same river basin. The results demonstrated that minisatellite core sequences are potentially useful as single primers in PCR to assist in species and population identification. The observed genetic stock differentiation in B. lundii associated with ecological and demographic data constitute a crucial task to develop efficient conservation strategies in order to preserve the genetic diversity of this endangered fish species.

Bronsted Acid Catalyzed Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction: A New Mechanistic View for Thioureas Revealed by ESI-MS(/MS) Monitoring and DFT Calculations

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Oxidative stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and armored catfish (Pterygoplichthys anisitsi) exposed to diesel oil

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

Real-time monitoring and kinetic parameter estimation of the affinity interaction of jArtinM and rArtinM with peroxidase glycoprotein by the electrogravimetric technique

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

Effects of broiler breeder genetic, diet type, and feeding program on maternal antibody transfer and development of lymphoid tissues in chicken progeny

Maternal antibody (MatAb) transfer is important for early chicken survivability. Diet composition and the amount of feed given to breeder pullets during rearing may affect the development of immunity and the transfer of MatAb to progeny, and could affect progeny performance and resistance to disease. The effects of broiler breeder nutrition and feeding management practices were evaluated for the transfer of MatAb to progeny and for spleen and bursa development at hatching in 2 genetic strains (A and B). In this experiment, the levels of MatAb against Newcastle disease virus were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in serum samples taken of pedigreed chicken progeny from hatching to 13 d of age. Chickens were fed corn-and wheat-based diets, as were their parents. The breeder feeding program and diet type altered the Newcastle disease virus MatAb found in progeny at hatching and affected how long these antibodies were maintained in circulation. Bursal follicle size at hatching was influenced by an interaction among all factors evaluated. Percentage of white pulp in the spleen was affected mainly by genetic strain and diet type, but responses varied according to the breeder feeding program. It was concluded that breeder feeding programs influence MatAb transfer and half-life, and may also affect the early development of lymphoid tissues.