Soil and phytosociological characterization of an area with predominance of arnica (Lychnophora pohlii sch. bip.)

Lychnophora pohlii Sch. Bip. (Asteraceae), known as "Arnica mineira", is widely used in folk medicine and very abundant in the altitude vegetation of rocky grassland. The aim of this work was to study the density of this species and its relationship with soil parameters in rocky grassland in Diamantina, in the Upper Jequitinhonha region, Minas Gerais. Ten contiguous 20 x 50 m plots were marked (total sampled area 10,000 m²) on the campus Juscelino Kubitschek of the Federal University of Jequitinhonha and Mucuri Valleys (UFVJM). The plants in these plots were evaluated for frequency, dominance and density. The relationship between the density of this species with nine soil physical and chemical properties was analyzed by means of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The highest plant abundance (I) of the species Lychnophora pohlii Sch. Bip. was found in the vegetation sampling areas: plot 6 with 255 plants, plot 7 with 173, plot 8 with 189, plot 9 with 159, and plot 1 with 151 plants. In these areas, the floristic soil characteristics were similar, resulting in spatial proximity in the ACC diagrams. The density of Lychnophora pohlii was higher in plots with higher pH, P-rem and base saturation, the variables most strongly correlated with the first axis of canonical correspondence analysis.

Utilização de características microbiológicas na avaliação da degradação ou recuperação de uma área sob mineração de ferro

O estado de degradação e, ou, recuperação de diferentes sítios de uma área de mineração de ferro no município de Mariana (MG) foi avaliado pela atividade microbiana, número de esporos de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMA) e população total de fungos e bactérias. Os substratos presentes em cada sítio, caracterizados como Rejeito de flotação (Rj), Solo superficial (SS), Subsolo (Ss), Subsolo com vegetação (SsV), Área em revegetação (AR) e Mata secundária (MS), foram amostrados na profundidade de 10-25 cm, retirando-se uma amostra composta, formada por oito amostras simples. A atividade microbiana foi avaliada pela evolução de CO2 em amostras ao natural e com adição de sacarose ou sacarose + uréia. Fez-se também a determinação de características químicas e teor de umidade. A colonização do substrato SsV por gramíneas e plantas de candeia (Vanillosmopsis erythropappa Schult. Bip.) foi acompanhada pelo número de esporos de FMA, teor de carbono orgânico e atividade microbiana. Os esporos de FMA só foram observados em áreas com vegetação. O armazenamento da camada superficial de solo (sítio SS) reduziu os teores de carbono orgânico, nitrogênio total, número de esporos de FMA e atividade microbiana. Nos substratos resultantes da atividade mineradora, houve necessidade do fornecimento conjunto de carbono e nitrogênio para estimular a atividade microbiana. As características microbiológicas avaliadas apresentaram valores maiores no sítio de mata secundária do que nos demais amostrados, indicando que aqueles em recuperação não possuíam o mesmo equilíbrio biológico. As avaliações microbiológicas do solo foram capazes de distinguir os estados de perturbação ou recuperação das diferentes áreas estudadas.

Estudo prospectivo utilizando material coletado por bioptycut para realização de exame de congelação em pacientes com tumores de mama

Estudo conduzido com o objetivo de avaliar a confiabilidade, acurácia e dificuldades do exame de congelação, utilizando-se pequenos fragmentos de tumores mamários obtidos com a biópsia histológica por agulha grossa (bioptycut). Durante 13 meses, 37 pacientes foram submetidas ao Bioptycut (pistola BIP 2.2 ou Promag 1.2, agulhas l4G), sendo que, de cada uma delas, foram retirados no mínimo dois fragmentos, um a fresco para congelação e outro submerso em formol para inclusão posterior em parafina. O estudo de congelação constituiu-se de exame citológico do "imprimir" da peça e de exame histológico usando cortes através de congelação. Os cortes foram feitos usando criostato e micrótomo, com cortes de 8µ. O tamanho do tumor puncionado variou de 1cm a 12cm (média 4,8cm). A congelação foi conclusiva em 33 casos (89%), sendo trinta carcinomas e três benignos, e inconclusiva em quatro casos (11%). A obtenção deste dia:nóstico se deu pelo "imprint" e corte em 29 casos (78%), só pelo "imprint" em quatro casos (11 %), em dois casos tanto o corte quanto o "imprint" foram inadequados e dois não foram descritos. Posteriormente foram obtidas peças por exérese da lesão (até a análise) em 28 casos, dos quais 25 carcinomas e três tumores benignos (11 %). Houve um caso de congelação conclusiva de benignidade, em que a exérese posterior revelou se tratar de carcinoma (falso-negativo). Não houve falsos-positivos. A sensibilidade foi de 96% e a especificidade de 100%. Assim, conclui-se que o exame por congelação, usando-se peças obtidas com bioptycut se mostrou confiável, evitando biópsias abertas em 81 % dos casos, garantindo rapidez e melhor preparo das pacientes para terapêutica definitiva.

Variation between three Eremanthus (Asteraceae) species in their ability to form a seed bank

Knowledge on seed bank function is fundamental for understanding the species regeneration patterns. This investigation was carried out to compare the ability of Eremanthus elaeagnus (Mart. ex DC.) Schultz-Bip, E. glomerulatus Less., and E. incanus (Less.) Less. to form a soil seed bank. Seeds (aquenes) of each of these three species were collected, stored in the laboratory and subsequently buried in the same area where they were collected, inside nylon bags. The bags were collected monthly or bimonthly for germination tests under continuous light and also in darkness at 20 °C (E. elaeagnus e E. glomerulatus) and at 25 °C (E. incanus). After 12 months, a further series of tests compared the germination of achenes that had been buried in soil and compared with those stored in the laboratory at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 °C. After three months of burial, the seeds of E. elaeagnus and E. glomerulatus failed to germinate, whereas the seeds of E. incanus, even after burial for 18 months, retained germination percentage of between 1% and 30%. After one year stored in laboratory, the seeds of E. glomerulatus were no longer viable and seeds of E. elaeagnus e E. incanus had a germination percentage below that of newly collected seeds. The results showed that E. elaeagnus and E. glomerulatus do not form seed banks while E. incanus may form a small and persistent soil seed bank.

Plant-plant associations and population structure of four woody plant species in a patchy coastal vegetation of Southeastern Brazil

We examined plant population structure and interspecific associations for juveniles and adults of four woody species (Andira legalis (Vell.) Toledo, Clusia hilariana Schltdl., Protium icicariba (DC.) Marchand and Vernonia crotonoides Sch. Bip. ex Baker) in a patchy vegetation on a sandy coastal plain (restinga) in SE - Brazil. We found 101 vegetation patches in a 0.5 ha grid and these were divided into two distinct size classes, with large patches (> 20 m²) containing the majority of adult individuals of the species studied. The most abundant species, P. icicariba (465 individuals) and C. hilariana (312), had actively regenerating populations, whereas A. legalis (20) and V. crotonoides (338) showed evidence of intermittent regeneration. The regeneration niches of the four species differed as did their investment in vegetative reproduction: for instance, 81% of C. hilariana seedlings were found growing inside tank-bromeliads contrasting with only 3% of P. icicariba in this habitat. Additionally, 28% of regenerants of C. hilariana originated vegetatively, contrasting with only 6% for P. icicariba. All significant associations between species found in the study were positive. There was a positive association between adults of C. hilariana and P. icicariba, as well as between adults of C. hilariana and juveniles of both. This suggests that P. icicariba is successfully establishing under the canopy of C. hilariana and highlights the role of C. hilariana in generating vegetation cover that will be later dominated by other woody plant species, as an important process for maintenance of plant diversity in this restinga vegetation.

Identification of the divergent calmodulin binding motif in yeast Ssb1/Hsp75 protein and in other HSP70 family members

Yeast soluble proteins were fractionated by calmodulin-agarose affinity chromatography and the Ca2+/calmodulin-binding proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. One prominent protein of 66 kDa was excised from the gel, digested with trypsin and the masses of the resultant fragments were determined by MALDI/MS. Twenty-one of 38 monoisotopic peptide masses obtained after tryptic digestion were matched to the heat shock protein Ssb1/Hsp75, covering 37% of its sequence. Computational analysis of the primary structure of Ssb1/Hsp75 identified a unique potential amphipathic alpha-helix in its N-terminal ATPase domain with features of target regions for Ca2+/calmodulin binding. This region, which shares 89% similarity to the experimentally determined calmodulin-binding domain from mouse, Hsc70, is conserved in near half of the 113 members of the HSP70 family investigated, from yeast to plant and animals. Based on the sequence of this region, phylogenetic analysis grouped the HSP70s in three distinct branches. Two of them comprise the non-calmodulin binding Hsp70s BIP/GR78, a subfamily of eukaryotic HSP70 localized in the endoplasmic reticulum, and DnaK, a subfamily of prokaryotic HSP70. A third heterogeneous group is formed by eukaryotic cytosolic HSP70s containing the new calmodulin-binding motif and other cytosolic HSP70s whose sequences do not conform to those conserved motif, indicating that not all eukaryotic cytosolic Hsp70s are target for calmodulin regulation. Furthermore, the calmodulin-binding domain found in eukaryotic HSP70s is also the target for binding of Bag-1 - an enhancer of ADP/ATP exchange activity of Hsp70s. A model in which calmodulin displaces Bag-1 and modulates Ssb1/Hsp75 chaperone activity is discussed.

The time course of ethanol tolerance: associative learning

The effect of different contextual stimuli on different ethanol-induced internal states was investigated during the time course of both the hypothermic effect of the drug and of drug tolerance. Minimitters were surgically implanted in 16 Wistar rats to assess changes in their body temperature under the effect of ethanol. Rat groups were submitted to ethanol or saline trials every other day. The animals were divided into two groups, one receiving a constant dose (CD) of ethanol injected intraperitoneally, and the other receiving increasing doses (ID) during the 10 training sessions. During the ethanol training sessions, conditioned stimuli A (tone) and B (buzzer) were presented at "state +" (35 min after drug injection) and "state -" (170 min after drug injection), respectively. Conditioned stimuli C (bip) and D (white noise) were presented at moments equivalent to stimuli A and B, respectively, but during the saline training sessions. All stimuli lasted 15 min. The CD group, but not the ID group, developed tolerance to the hypothermic effect of ethanol. Stimulus A (associated with drug "state +") induced hyperthermia with saline injection in the ID group. Stimulus B (associated with drug "state -") reduced ethanol tolerance in the CD group and modulated the hypothermic effect of the drug in the ID group. These results indicate that contextual stimuli acquire modulatory conditioned properties that are associated with the time course of both the action of the drug and the development of drug tolerance.