Production flush of Agaricus blazei on Brazilian casing layers

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

Analysis of floristic composition and structure as an aid to monitoring protected areas of dense rain forest in southeastern Brazil

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

Duffy blood group gene polymorphisms among malaria vivax patients in four areas of the Brazilian Amazon region

Background: Duffy blood group polymorphisms are important in areas where Plasmodium vivax predominates, because this molecule acts as a receptor for this protozoan. In the present study, Duffy blood group genotyping in P. vivax malaria patients from four different Brazilian endemic areas is reported, exploring significant associations between blood group variants and susceptibility or resistance to malaria.Methods: the P. vivax identification was determined by non-genotypic and genotypic screening tests. The Duffy blood group was genotyped by PCR/RFLP in 330 blood donors and 312 malaria patients from four Brazilian Amazon areas. In order to assess the variables significance and to obtain independence among the proportions, the Fisher's exact test was used.Results: the data show a high frequency of the FYA/FYB genotype, followed by FYB/FYB, FYA/FYA, FYA/FYB-33 and FYB/FYB-33. Low frequencies were detected for the FYA/FY(X), FYB/FY(X), FYX/FY(X) and FYB-33/FYB-33 genotypes. Negative Duffy genotype (FYB-33/FYB-33) was found in both groups: individuals infected and non-infected (blood donors). No individual carried the FY(X)/FYB-33 genotype. Some of the Duffy genotypes frequencies showed significant differences between donors and malaria patients.Conclusion: the obtained data suggest that individuals with the FYA/FYB genotype have higher susceptibility to malaria. The presence of the FYB-33 allele may be a selective advantage in the population, reducing the rate of infection by P. vivax in this region. Additional efforts may contribute to better elucidate the physiopathologic differences in this parasite/host relationship in regions endemic for P. vivax malaria, in particular the Brazilian Amazon region.

Zootherapy goes to town: the use of animal-based remedies in urban areas of NE and N Brazil

This paper examines the therapeutic possibilities offered by animal-based remedies in five Brazilian cities. Information was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires applied to 79 traders of medicinal animals at Sao Luis, Teresina, Joao Pessoa and Campina Grande (Northeastern) and Belem (Northern) Brazil. We recorded the use of 97 animal species as medicines, whose products were recommended for the treatment of 82 illnesses. The most frequently quoted treatments concerned the respiratory system (58 species; 407 use-citations), the osteomuscular system and conjunctive tissue (46 species; 384 use-citations), and the circulatory system (34 species; 124 use-citations). Mammals (27 species), followed by reptiles (24) and fishes (16) represented the bulk of medicinal species. In relation to users, 53% of the interviewees informed that zootherapeuticals resources were sought after by people from all social classes, while 47% stated that low income people were the main buyers. The notable use and commercialization of medicinal animals to alleviate and cure health problems and ailments in cities highlights the resilience of that resource in the folk medicine. Most remedies quoted by interviewees depend on wild-caught animals, including some species under official protection. Among other aspects, the harvesting of threatened species confers zootherapy a role in the discussions about biodiversity conservation in Brazil. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.

Precipitation chemistry in semi-arid areas of Southern Africa: A case study of a rural and an industrial site

Experimental data on the precipitation chemistry in the semi-arid savanna of South Africa is presented in this paper. A total of 901 rainwater samples were collected with automatic wet-only samplers at a rural site, Louis Trichardt, and at an industrial site, Amersfoort, from July 1986 to June 1999. The chemical composition of precipitation was analysed for seven inorganic and two organic ions, using ion chromatography. The most abundant ion was SO(4)(2-) and a large proportion of the precipitation is acidic, with 98% of samples at Amersfoort and 94% at Louis Trichardt having a pH below 5.6 ( average pH of 4.4 and 4.9, respectively). This acidity results from a mixture of mineral and organic acids, with mineral acids being the primary contributors to the precipitation acidity in Amersfoort, while at Louis Trichardt, organic and mineral acids contribute equal amounts of acidity. It was found that the composition of rainwater is controlled by five sources: marine, terrigenous, nitrogenous, biomass burning and anthropogenic sources. The relative contributions of these sources at the two sites were calculated. Anthropogenic sources dominate at Amersfoort and biomass burning at Louis Trichardt. Most ions exhibit a seasonal pattern at Louis Trichardt, with the highest concentrations occurring during the austral spring as a result of agricultural activities and biomass combustion, while at Amersfoort it is less pronounced due to the dominance of relatively constant industrial emissions. The results are compared to observations from other African regions.

Ultrastructural and histochemical examination of alveolar bone at the pressure areas of rat molars submitted to continuous orthodontic force

It is usually believed that repair in alveolar bone during orthodontic movement occurs after decreasing of force. However, we have recently observed signs of repair in previously resorbed cementum from human teeth exposed to continuous forces. In order to test the hypothesis that bone resorption and deposition occur concomitantly at the pressure areas, a continuous 15 cN force was applied in a buccal direction to upper first molars from eight 2.5-month-old male Wistar rats for 3 d (n=4) and 7 d (n=4). As a control, two additional rats did not have their molars moved. Maxillae were fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde + 2.5% formaldehyde, under microwave irradiation, decalcified in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, and processed for transmission electron microscopy. Specimens from one rat from each group were processed for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) histochemistry. At both the times studied, the alveolar bone surface at the pressure areas showed numerous TRAP-positive osteoclasts, which were apposed to resorption lacunae. In addition, osteoblasts with numerous synthesis organelles were present in the neighboring areas overlying an organic matrix. Thus, this study provides evidence that the application of continuous forces produces concomitant bone resorption and formation at the pressure areas in rat molars.

Structural, microstructural, and transport properties of highly oriented LaNiO3 thin films deposited on SrTiO3(100) single crystal

Electrical conductive textured LaNiO3/SrTiO3 (100) thin films were successfully produced by the polymeric precursor method. A comparison between features of these films of LaNiO3 (LNO) when heat treated in a conventional furnace (CF) and in a domestic microwave (MW) oven is presented. The x-ray diffraction data indicated good crystallinity and a structural orientation along the (h00) direction for both films. The surface images obtained by atomic force microscopy revealed similar roughness values, whereas films LNO-MW present slightly smaller average grain size (similar to 80 nm) than those observed for LNO-CF (60-150 nm). These grain size values were in good agreement with those evaluated from the x-ray data. The transport properties have been studied by temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity rho(T) which revealed for both films a metallic behavior in the entire temperature range studied. The behavior of rho(T) was investigated, allowing to a discussion of the transport mechanisms in these films. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Very large dielectric constant of highly oriented Pb1-xBaxTiO3 thin films prepared by chemical deposition

Highly (100) oriented Pb0.8Ba0.2TiO3/LaNiO3 structures were grown on LaAlO3(100) substrates by using a wet, soft chemical method and crystallized by the microwave oven technique. The Au/PBT/LaNiO3/LaAlO3 capacitor shows a hysteresis loop with remnant polarization, P-r, of 15 muC/cm(2), and coercive field, E-c, of 47 kV/cm at an applied voltage of 3 V, along with a dielectric constant over 1800. Atomic force microscopy showed that Pb0.8Ba0.2TiO3 is composed of large grains about 300 nm. The experimental results demonstrated that the microwave preparation is rapid, clean, and energy efficient. Therefore, we demonstrated that the combination of the soft chemical method with the microwave process is a promising technique to grow highly oriented thin films with excellent dielectric and ferroelectric properties, which can be used in various integrated device applications. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Non-stationary frequency analysis of extreme daily rainfall in São Paulo, Brazil

This work is an assessment of frequency of extreme values (EVs) of daily rainfall in the city of São Paulo. Brazil, over the period 1933-2005, based on the peaks-over-threshold (POT) and Generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) approach. Usually. a GPD model is fitted to a sample of POT Values Selected With a constant threshold. However. in this work we use time-dependent thresholds, composed of relatively large p quantities (for example p of 0.97) of daily rainfall amounts computed from all available data. Samples of POT values were extracted with several Values of p. Four different GPD models (GPD-1, GPD-2, GPD-3. and GDP-4) were fitted to each one of these samples by the maximum likelihood (ML) method. The shape parameter was assumed constant for the four models, but time-varying covariates were incorporated into scale parameter of GPD-2. GPD-3, and GPD-4, describing annual cycle in GPD-2. linear trend in GPD-3, and both annual cycle and linear trend in GPD-4. The GPD-1 with constant scale and shape parameters is the simplest model. For identification of the best model among the four models WC used rescaled Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) with second-order bias correction. This criterion isolates GPD-3 as the best model, i.e. the one with positive linear trend in the scale parameter. The slope of this trend is significant compared to the null hypothesis of no trend, for about 98% confidence level. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test also showed presence of positive trend in the annual frequency of excess over high thresholds. with p-value being virtually zero. Therefore. there is strong evidence that high quantiles of daily rainfall in the city of São Paulo have been increasing in magnitude and frequency over time. For example. 0.99 quantiles of daily rainfall amount have increased by about 40 mm between 1933 and 2005. Copyright (C) 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

Interaction between areas of the central nervous system in the control of water intake and arterial pressure in rats

1. Water intake induced by injection of 0.2 M-NaCl into the lateral preoptic area was increased by the injection of angiotensin II into the subfornical organ of rats. The injection of hypertonic saline solution into the subfornical organ increased water intake. However, the increase was lower than when the solution was injected into the lateral preoptic area. The injection of 4 μg angiotensin II into the lateral preoptic area further augmented this effect. 2. Injection of angiotensin II into the subfornical organ caused a rise in blood pressure which preceded the thirst-inducing effect. The injection of 0.2 M NaCl into the subfornical organ caused no changes in blood pressure, whereas the injection of angiotensin II into the lateral preoptic area caused some increase. 3. Dehydration of the lateral preoptic area by means of 0.2 M NaCl in combination with intravenous infusion of angiotensin II caused a summation of effects in terms of the water intake, without changing cardiovascular alterations induced by the infusion of angiotensin II. A summation of effects in the water intake, but not in blood pressure, was also observed when 0.5 M NaCl was infused intravenously in combination with the injection of angiotensin II into the subfornical organ and into the lateral preoptic area. 4. The results indicate that there are interactions between the subfornical organ and lateral preoptic area in the regulation of cardiovascular and thirst mechanisms.