Integrated assessment of multilevel biomarker responses and chemical analysis in Mussels from Sao Sebastiao, São Paulo, Brazil

The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence of contaminants in the mussel Perna perna from Sao Sebastiao Channel, São Paulo, Brazil, and to evaluate the effects of these contaminants on these organisms at biochemical (catalase [CAT], glutathione-S-transferase [GST], and cholinesterase [ChE]), cellular (neutral red retention time [NRRT] assay), and physiological (cardiac monitoring) levels. Two sampling surveys were performed (winter of 2001 and summer of 2002) at six stations along the channel: Cigarras, station 1; late Clube de Ilhabela, station 2; Oil Terminal, station 3; Toque Toque, station 4; Ponta da Sela, station 5 (reference station); and Taubate, station 6. Differences in CAT activity were observed between mussels from stations 3 and 5 during the winter, but no differences were detected in the summer. No differences in GST activity were found among stations during the winter, although animals from station 3 showed higher activity during the summer. The ChE activity was significantly higher in the mussels from stations I and 2 during the winter and from stations I and 3 during the summer. Organisms from stations I through 4 showed statistically lower NRRT in both seasons. Similar heart rates were observed in the mussels from all stations. Hydrocarbons were detected in organisms from all the stations in both seasons. During the winter, higher polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) levels were observed in organisms from station 3, whereas during the summer, higher levels of metals were found in organisms from stations 1, 3, and 4. The multivariate analyses showed a strong influence of PAHs on the winter biological results, but metals showed higher influence on these responses in the summer, indicating multiple contaminant sources.

Integrated assessment for establishing an oil environmental vulnerability map: Case study for the Santos Basin region, Brazil

The growth of maritime transport and oil exploitation activities may increase the risk of oil spills. Thus, plans and actions to prevent or mitigate impacts are needed to minimize the effects caused by oil. However, tools used worldwide to support contingency plans have not been integrated, thus leading to failure in establishing priority areas. This investigation aimed to develop indices of environmental vulnerability to oil (IEVO), by combining information about environmental sensibility to oil and results of numerical modeling of spilled oil. To achieve that, a case study concerning to oil spills scenarios in a subtropical coastal area was designed, and IEVOs were calculated and presented in maps, in order to make the information about the areas' vulnerability more easily visualized. For summer, the extension of coastline potentially affected by oil was approximately 150. km, and most of the coastline presented medium to high vulnerability. For winter, 230. km coastline would be affected, from which 75% were classified as medium to high vulnerability. Thus, IEVO maps allowed a rapid and clearer interpretation of the vulnerability of the mapped region, facilitating the planning process and the actions in response to an oil spill. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Integrated assessment of metal contamination in sediments from two tropical estuaries

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Integrated quality assessment of sediments from harbour areas in Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System, Southern Brazil

Santos-São Vicente Estuarine System is a highly populated coastal zone in Brazil and where it is located the major port of Latin America. Historically, port activities, industrial and domestic effluents discharges have constituted the main sources of contaminants to estuarine system. This study aimed to assess the recent status of sediment quality from 5 zones of Port of Santos by applying a lines-of-evidence approach through integrating results of: (1) acute toxicity of whole sediment and chronic toxicity of liquid phases; (2) grain size, organic matter, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, linear alkylbenzenes and butyltins; (3) benthic community descriptors. Results revealed a gradient of increasing contamination for metals and organic compounds, alongside with their geochemical carriers. Sediment liquid phases were more toxic compared to whole sediment. Low number of species and individuals indicated the impoverishment of benthic community. The use of site-specific sediment quality guidelines was more appropriate to predict sediment toxicity. The integration of results through Sediment Quality Triad approach and principal component analysis allowed observing the effects of natural stressors and dredging on sediment quality and benthic distribution. Even with recent governmental efforts to control, pollution is still relevant in Port of Santos and a threat to local ecosystems. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

Impacts of Climate Change and the End of Deforestation on Land Use in the Brazilian Legal Amazon

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fuzzy Index for Public Supply Water Quality

Human population growth and increased industrial activity in recent decades have contributed to a range of environmental problems, including the contamination of groundwater and surface water. In order to help in the management of these resources, water quality indices are used as tools to summarize multiple parameters and express them in the form of a single number. The ability to provide both an integrated assessment of changes in environmental variables, as well as performance tracking, has resulted in such indices being increasingly employed in surface water monitoring programs. The aim of this study was to develop an Index for Public Supply Water Quality (IPS) using a fuzzy inference methodology. Linguistic systems generally provide satisfactory tools for qualitative purposes, enabling the inclusion of descriptive variables with reduced loss of individual information. Validation of the technique was achieved by analysis of measurement data obtained for the Sorocaba River, provided by CETESB. The new procedure proved more rigorous, compared to classical IPS. It could be readily applied in the evaluation of other water bodies, or be adjusted to incorporate additional parameters also considered important for the assessment of water quality.

Integrated sediment quality assessment in Paranagua Estuarine System, Southern Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Radiographic assessment of bone density around integrated titanium implants after ovariectomy in rats

Objectives:This study evaluated the influence of ovariectomy 8 weeks after implant placement on bone integrated to titanium implants.Materials and methods:Thirty-eight female rats were submitted to a titanium implant at the tibiae proximal methaphysis. After a healing period of 8 weeks the animals were randomly divided into three groups: control (CTL-10 animals), sham-operated (SHAM-14 animals) and ovariectomy (OVX-14 animals). The CTL group was then sacrificed in order to confirm integration of the implant. The SHAM group was submitted to fictitious surgery and the OVX group was submitted to bilateral ovariectomy. After 12 weeks post-implant placement, the SHAM and OVX groups were sacrificed. In order to confirm the systemic osteopenia in rats, a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed. For the evaluation of bone density, digital radiographs were taken. The grey level of the bone adjacent to implant was measured using image software and the bone density was calculated at six points on both sides of the implant.Results:Densitometry measurements of the femur confirmed systemic bone mass loss in the OVX group. Individualized bone analyses of different regions surrounding the implant showed a significantly lower radiographic bone density (P < 0.05) in the cancellous region of the OVX group (77.48 +/- 23.39 grey levels) when compared with the CTL and SHAM groups (91.61 +/- 32.10 and 102.57 +/- 32.50 grey levels, respectively).Conclusions:The present study showed a decrease of the radiographic bone density in the cancellous region of bone around titanium implants placed 8 weeks before ovariectomy in rats.

Assessment of aquatic plants in the reservoirs of AES-Tiete and development of an integrated control model for the most important species

The general objective of this work was to develop a monitoring and management model for aquatic plants that could be used in reservoir cascades in Brazil, using the reservoirs of AES-Tiete as a study case. The investigations were carried out at the reservoirs of Barra-Bonita, Bariri, Ibitinga, Promissao, and Nova-Avanhandava, located in the Tiete River Basin; Agua Vermelha, located in the Grande River Basin; Caconde, Limoeiro, and Euclides da Cunha, which are part of the Pardo River Basin; and the Mogi-Guacu reservoir, which belongs to the Mogi-Guacu River basin. The main products of this work were: development of techniques using satellite-generated images for monitoring and planning aquatic plant control; planning and construction of a boat to move floating plant masses and an airboat equipped with a DGPS navigation and application flow control system. Results allowed to conclude that the occurrence of all types of aquatic plants is directly associated with sedimentation process and, consequently, with nutrient and light availability. Reservoirs placed at the beginning of cascades are more subject to sedimentation and occurrence of marginal, floating and emerged plants, and are the priority when it comes to controlling these plants, since they provide a supply of weeds for the other reservoirs. Reservoirs placed downstream show smaller amounts of water-suspended solids, with greater transmission of light and occurrence of submerged plants.

Integrated analysis environment for the Movement Assessment Battery for Children

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic and usually permanent condition found in children, is characterized by motor impairment that interferes with a child's activities of daily living and with academic achievement. One of the most popular tests for the quantitative diagnosis of DCD is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Based on the Battery's standardized scores, it is possible to identify children with typical development, children at risk of developing DCD, and children with DCD. This article describes a computational system we developed to assist with the analysis of results obtained in the MABC test. The tool was developed for the web environment and its database provides integration of MABC data. Thus, researchers around the world can share data and develop collaborative work in the DCD field. In order to help analysis processes, our system provides services for filtering data to show more specific sets of information and present the results in textual, table, and graphic formats, allowing easier and more comprehensive evaluation of the results.

Chronic contamination assessment integrating biomarkers' responses in transplanted mussels-A seasonal monitoring

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Assessment of Donana National Park contamination in Procambarus clarkii: Integration of conventional biomarkers and proteomic approaches

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

An integrated database on ticks and tick-borne zoonoses in the tropics and subtropics with special reference to developing and emerging countries

Tick-borne zoonoses (TBZ) are emerging diseases worldwide. A large amount of information (e.g. case reports, results of epidemiological surveillance, etc.) is dispersed through various reference sources (ISI and non-ISI journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, etc.). An integrated database-derived from the ICTTD-3 project (http://www.icttd.nl)-was developed in order to gather TBZ records in the (sub-)tropics, collected both by the authors and collaborators worldwide. A dedicated website (http://www.tickbornezoonoses.org) was created to promote collaboration and circulate information. Data collected are made freely available to researchers for analysis by spatial methods, integrating mapped ecological factors for predicting TBZ risk. The authors present the assembly process of the TBZ database: the compilation of an updated list of TBZ relevant for (sub-)tropics, the database design and its structure, the method of bibliographic search, the assessment of spatial precision of geo-referenced records. At the time of writing, 725 records extracted from 337 publications related to 59 countries in the (sub-)tropics, have been entered in the database. TBZ distribution maps were also produced. Imported cases have been also accounted for. The most important datasets with geo-referenced records were those on Spotted Fever Group rickettsiosis in Latin-America and Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever in Africa. The authors stress the need for international collaboration in data collection to update and improve the database. Supervision of data entered remains always necessary. Means to foster collaboration are discussed. The paper is also intended to describe the challenges encountered to assemble spatial data from various sources and to help develop similar data collections.

Integrated biomarker responses as environmental status descriptors of a coastal zone (São Paulo, Brazil)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Integrated planning of electric power distribution networks

In this work, a heuristic model for integrated planning of primary distribution network and secondary distribution circuits is proposed. A Tabu Search (TS) algorithm is employed to solve the planning of primary distribution networks. Evolutionary Algorithms (EA) are used to solve the planning model of secondary networks. The planning integration of both networks is carried out by means a constructive heuristic taking into account a set of integration alternatives between these networks. These integration alternatives are treated in a hierarchical way. The planning of primary networks and secondary distribution circuits is carried out based on assessment of the effects of the alternative solutions in the expansion costs of both networks simultaneously. In order to evaluate this methodology, tests were performed for a real-life distribution system taking into account the primary and secondary networks.