Genus Xylopia (Annonaceae): Chemical and Biological Aspects

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

Differential organotin sensitivity in two Leucozonia species from a ship traffic area in southeastern Brazil

Tributyltin exposure is the primary cause of imposex development in gastropods, making them excellent bioindicators. The present research represents the first examination of butyltin (BT) contamination in surface sediments associated with imposex in Leucozonia nassa and L. ocellata in a harbour complex area in Espirito Santo, southeastern Brazil. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the organotin pollution in the area and to assess the sensitivity of both species to BT pollution through imposex development. Specimens were collected between 2007 and 2010 and the sediments were sampled in 2007. Imposex intensity was evaluated based on the percentage of imposexed females, the relative penis length index (RPLI) and the average value of the vas deferens sequence index (VDSI). BTs were analysed using gas chromatography equipped with a pulsed flame photometric detector (PFPD). The results demonstrated the occurrence of elevated concentrations of BTs in the sediment ranging from 383.7 to 7172.9 ng Sn g(-1), indicating a severe contamination of the area, which was confirmed by the biological monitoring results. Our findings also indicated that L. ocellata is a less sensitive species than L. nassa and that this differential sensitivity plays a key role in the distributions of the populations of both species in the studied area.

Mutagenicity and antimutagenicity of six Brazilian Byrsonima species assessed by the Ames test

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

Spectroscopic, luminescence and in vitro biological studies of solid ketoprofen of heavier trivalent lanthanides and yttrium(III)

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

Effects of cotton cultivars differing in gossypol content on the quality of Aphis gossypii as prey for two species of Coccinellidae

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

Elucidating the crystal structure of the antimalarial drug (+/-)-mefloquine hydrochloride: a tetragonal hydrated species

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

Paracoccidioides lutzii sp nov.: biological and clinical implications

Paracoccidioides lutzii, formerly known as 'Pb01-like' strains in the P. brasiliensis complex, is proposed as a new species based on phylogenetic and comparative genomics data, recombination analysis, and morphological characteristics. Conidia of P. lutzii are elongated, different from those of P. brasiliensis. P. lutzii occurs in the central and northern regions of Brazil. Studies comparing P. brasiliensis and P. lutzii may have significant clinical consequences for the diagnosis and treatment of paracoccidioidomycosis.

Preliminary in vitro and ex vivo evaluation of afzelin, kaempferitrin and pterogynoside action over free radicals and reactive oxygen species

Biological activities of flavonoids have been extensively reviewed in literature. The biochemical profile of afzelin, kaempferitrin, and pterogynoside acting on reactive oxygen species was investigated in this paper. The flavonoids were able to act as scavengers of the superoxide anion, hypochlorous acid and taurine chloramine. Although flavonoids are naturally occurring substances in plants which antioxidant activities have been widely advertised as beneficial, afzelin, kaempferitrin, and pterogynoside were able to promote cytotoxic effect. In red blood cells this toxicity was enhanced, depending on flavonoids concentration, in the presence of hypochlorous acid, but reduced in the presence of 2,20 -azo-bis(2-amidinopropane) free radical. These flavonoids had also promoted the death of neutrophils, which was exacerbated when the oxidative burst was initiated by phorbol miristate acetate. Therefore, despite their well-known scavenging action toward free radicals and oxidants, these compounds could be very harmful to living organisms through their action over erythrocytes and neutrophils.

Biological Hydrogen production from environmental sample in tropical countries

The hydrogen gas is regarded as clean and renewable energy source, since it generates only water during combustion when used as fuel. It shows 2.75 times more energy content than any hydrocarbon and it can be converted into electrical, mechanical energy or heat. Inoculum sources have been successfully tested for hydrogen biological production in temperate climate countries as sludge treatment plants sewage, sludge treatment plant wastewater, landfill sample, among others. However, hydrogen biologic production with inoculum from environmental samples such as sediment reservoirs, especially in tropical countries like Brazil, is rarely investigated. Reservoirs and fresh water lake sediment may contain conditions for the survival of a wide variety of microorganisms which use different carbon sources mainly glucose and xylose, in the fermentation. Glucose is an easily biodegradable, present in most of the industrial effluents and can be obtained abundantly from agricultural wastes. A wide variety of wastewater resulting from agriculture, industry and pulp and paper processed from wood may contain xylose in its constitution. Such effluent contains glucose and xylose concentrations of about 2 g/L. In this sense, this work verified hydrogen biological production in anaerobic batch reactor (1L), at 37 ° C, initial pH 5.5, headspace with N2 (100%), Del Nery medium, vitamins and peptone (1 g/L), fed separately with glucose (2g/L) and xylose (2 g/L). The inoculum was taken from environmental sample (sediment reservoir Itupararanga - Ibiúna - SP-Brazil). It was previously purified in serial dilutions at H2 generation (10-5, 10-7, 10-10), and heat treated (90º C - 10 min) later to inhibited the H2 consumers. The maximum H2 generations obtained in both tests were observed at 552 h, as described below. At the reactors fed with glucose and xylose were observed, respectively, 9.1 and 8.6 mmol H2/L, biomass growth (0.2 and 0.2 nm); consumption of sugar concentrations 53.6% (1.1 glucose g/L) and 90.5% (1.8 xylose g/L); acetic acid generation (124.7 mg/L and 82.7 mg/L), butyric acid (134.0 mg/L and 230.4 mg/L) and there wasn’t methane generation in the reactors. Microscopic analysis of biomass in anaerobic reactors showed the predominance of Gram positive rods and rods with endospores, whose morphology is characteristic of H2-generating bacteria, in both tests. These species were selected from the natural environment. In DGGE analysis performed difference were observed between populations from inoculum and in tests. This analysis confirmed that some species of bacteria were selected which remained under the conditions imposed on the experiment. The efficiency of the pre-treatment of inoculum and the imposition of pH 5.5 inhibited methane-producing microorganisms and the consumers of H2. Therefore, the experimental conditions imposed allowed the attainment of bacterial consortium of producer H2 taken from an environmental sample with concentration of xylose and glucose similar to the ones of the industrial effluents.

Biological control of phytophagous arthropods in the physic nut tree Jatropha curcas L. in Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Biological associations of color variation in the Indo-Pacific swimming crab Charybdis hellerii

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Tmesiphantes mirim sp nov (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, Brazil, biogeographical notes and identification keys for species of the genus

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

New species of Daidalotarsonemus and Excelsotarsonemus (Acari, Tarsonemidae) from the Brazilian rainforest

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

The most relictual fungus-farming ant species cultivates the most recently evolved and highly domesticated fungal symbiont species

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

Effects of uremic solutes on reactive oxygen species in vitro model systems as a possibility of support the renal function management

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)