Survey of viruses belonging to different genera and species in noble garlic in Brazil

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

Quality management, environmental management maturity, green supply chain practices and green performance of Brazilian companies with ISO 14001 certification: Direct and indirect effects (Reprint from vol 67C, pg 39-51)

This study aims to test a new conceptual model based on the relationship between quality management (QM), environmental management maturity (EMM), adoption of external practices of green supply chain management (GSCM) (green purchasing and collaboration with customers) and green performance (GP) with data from 95 Brazilian firms with ISO 14001. To our knowledge, such links and relationships are not simultaneously identified and tested in the literature. The results indicate the validation of all of the research hypotheses. This paper highlights that an improvement in green performance will require attention to quality management, environmental management maturity, and green supply chain.

Comparative study between powers of sigmoid functions, MLP-backpropagation and polynomials in function approximation problems

Function approximation is a very important task in environments where the computation has to be based on extracting information from data samples in real world processes. So, the development of new mathematical model is a very important activity to guarantee the evolution of the function approximation area. In this sense, we will present the Polynomials Powers of Sigmoid (PPS) as a linear neural network. In this paper, we will introduce one series of practical results for the Polynomials Powers of Sigmoid, where we will show some advantages of the use of the powers of sigmiod functions in relationship the traditional MLP-Backpropagation and Polynomials in functions approximation problems.

Hemoplasmas in wild canids and felids in Brazil

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

Review of Laws and Societies in the Canadian Prairie West, 1670-1940 Edited by Louis A. Knafla and Jonathan Swainger

For all intents and purposes, the settlement of the Canadian prairie was the founding of a new society using materials brought to the new land along with those close at hand. Of course, preexisting aboriginal society had to be supplanted in the course of this founding. In both the supplanting and the founding, the rule of law as we currently know it was a principal means and end of the settlement process.

Hyaluronidase splice variants are associated with histology and outcome in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung

Heterogeneity of hyaluronidase (HYAL) expression has been identified in tumors and shows promise as an indicator of disease progression. The expression profile of alternatively spliced forms of HYAL was evaluated in tumors and normal lung tissue from 69 resected tumors of patients with adenocarcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. HYAL1-wild-type (wt) and variants 1 to 5, HYAL2-wt, and HYAL3-wt, and variants 1 to 3 were identified by polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. Different proportions of the 3 HYAL-wt and variants were expressed in tumor and normal lung tissues. HYAL1-wt was associated with a poorer prognosis and HYAL3-vl with a better prognosis. HYAL splice variants are associated with histology and outcome, suggesting that strategies aimed at modulating their levels may be effective for lung cancer treatment. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Detection of porcine circovirus genotypes 2a and 2b in aborted foetuses from infected swine herds in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Background: Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) has been associated with several disease complexes, including reproductive failure. The aim of this study was to identify the subtypes of PCV2 that are associated with reproductive failure in pigs from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil and to investigate co-infections with other infectious organisms. Findings: Samples of 168 aborted foetuses or mummified foetuses from five farrow-to-finish swine farms known to be infected with PCV2 and located in the State of Sao Paulo were tested for PCV2 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Positive samples were additionally tested for porcine parvovirus (PPV), Leptospira spp. and Brucella spp. by PCR. PCV2 was detected in 18 of the samples (10.7%). PPV, Brucella spp. and Leptospira spp were found in 2, 10 and 0 cases, respectively. Eleven PCV2 strains were sequenced and determined to be either genotype 2a (n = 1) or 2b (n = 10). Conclusions: The findings indicate that the frequency of PCV2 infections in aborted porcine foetuses from the State of Sao Paulo is rather low (10.7%) and that co-infection with other pathogens is common and may be involved in PCV2 associated reproductive failure. No repeatable, characteristic amino acid motifs for regions of the PCV2 capsid protein seemed to be associated with abortion in sows.

On the formation of carbonate adducts of fatty alcohols, sterols, and sugars in biological conditions

The formation and properties of carbonate adducts of some organic hydroxy compounds in aqueous medium were investigated. Fatty alcohols and sugars were chosen as representative classes of biological interest, and the medium was carbonated aqueous solution with pH ranging from 3.0 to 8.3. Capillary electrophoresis with two capacitively coupled contactless conductivity detectors (C4Ds) was used for quantitation and to obtain the mobility of the monoalkyl carbonates (MACs), which were used to determine the equilibrium and kinetic constants of the reaction as well as the diffusion coefficients. For increasing chain length of the alcohols, the equilibrium constant tends to the unit, which suggests that fatty alcohols can form the corresponding MACs. The formation of MACs for cyclohexanol and cyclopentanol also suggest the existence of similar species for sterols. Carbonate adducts of fructose, glucose, and sucrose were also detected, which suggests that these counterparts of the well-known phosphates can also occur in the cytosol. Our calculations suggest that one in 1000 to one in 10 000 molecules of these hydroxy compounds would be available as the corresponding MAC in such a medium. Experiments carried out at pH values less than 3.0 showed that there is a catalytic effect of hydronium on the interconversion of bicarbonate and a MAC. Taking into account the great number of hydroxy compounds similar to the ones investigated and that bicarbonate is ubiquitous in living cells, one can anticipate the existence of a whole new class of carbonate adducts of these metabolites.

Evaluation of tropical water sources and mollusks in southern Brazil using microbiological, biochemical, and chemical parameters

Florianopolis, a city located in the Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil, is the national leading producer of bivalve mollusks. The quality of bivalve mollusks is closely related to the sanitary conditions of surrounding waters where they are cultivated. Presently, cultivation areas receive large amounts of effluents derived mainly from treated and non-treated domestic, rural, and urban sewage. This contributes to the contamination of mollusks with trace metals, pesticides, other organic compounds, and human pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, and protozoan. The aim of this study was to perform a thorough diagnosis of the shellfish growing areas in Florianopolis, on the coast of Santa Catarina. The contamination levels of seawater, sediments, and oysters were evaluated for their microbiological, biochemical, and chemical parameters at five sea sites in Florianopolis, namely three regular oyster cultivation areas (Sites 1, 2, and oyster supplier), a polluted site (Site 3), and a heavily polluted site (Site 4). Samples were evaluated at day zero and after 14 days. Seawater and sediment samples were collected just once, at the end of the experiment. Antioxidant defenses, which may occur in contaminated environments in response to the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by organisms, were analyzed in oysters, as well as organic compounds (in oysters and sediment samples) and microbiological contamination (in oysters and seawater samples). The results showed the presence of the following contaminants: fecal coliforms in seawater samples (four sites), human adenovirus (all sites), human noroviruses GI and GII (two sites), Hepatitis A viruses (one site), JC Polyomavirus in an oyster sample from the oyster supplier, Giardia duodenalis cysts, and Cryptosporidium sp oocysts (one site). Among organochlorine pesticides, only DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and HCH (hexachlorocyclohexane) were detected in some sediment and oysters samples in very low levels; site 4 had the highest concentrations of total aliphatic hydrocarbons. PAHs, and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) found either in oysters or in sediment samples. The major concentration of fecal sterol coprostanol was found at site 4, followed by site 3. After 14 days of allocation in the four selected sites, there was a significant difference in the enzymes analyzed at the monitored spots. The detection of different contaminants in oysters, seawater, and sediment samples in the present study shows the impact untreated or inadequately treated effluents have on coastal areas. These results highlight the need for public investment in adequate wastewater treatment and adequate treatment of oysters, ensuring safe areas for shellfish production as well as healthier bivalve mollusks for consumption.

Cerebral White Matter Oxidation and Nitrosylation in Young Rodents With Kaolin-Induced Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is associated with reduced blood flow in periventricular white matter. To investigate hypoxic and oxidative damage in the brains of rats with hydrocephalus, kaolin was injected into the cisterna magna of newborn 7- and 21-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats, and ventricle size was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging at 7, 21, and 42 days of age. In-situ evidence of hypoxia in periventricular capillaries and glial cells was shown by pimonidazole hydrochloride binding. Biochemical assay of thiobarbituric acid reaction and immunohistochemical detection of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal indicated the presence of lipid peroxidation in white matter. Biochemical assay of nitrite indicated increased nitric oxide production. Nitrotyrosine immunohistochemistry showed nitrosylated proteins in white matter reactive microglia and astrocytes. Activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione peroxidase were not increased, and altered hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha was not detected by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Cerebral vascular endothelial growth factor expression determined by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was not changed, but vascular endothelial growth factor immunoreactivity was increased in reactive astrocytes of hydrocephalic white matter. To determine if nitric oxide synthase is involved in the pathogenesis, we induced hydrocephalus in 7-day-old wild-type and neuronal nitric oxide synthase-deficient mice. At 7 days, the wild-type and mutant mice exhibited equally severe ventriculomegaly and no behavioral differences, although increased glial fibrillary acidic protein was less in the mutant mice. We conclude that hypoxia, via peroxidation and nitrosylation, contributes to brain changes in young rodents with hydrocephalus and that compensatory mechanisms are negligible.

ESTIMATING REACTION CONSTANTS BY AB INITIO MOLECULAR MODELING: A STUDY ON THE OXIDATION OF PHENOL TO CATECHOL AND HYDROQUINONE IN ADVANCED OXIDATION PROCESSES

Molecular modeling is growing as a research tool in Chemical Engineering studies, as can be seen by a simple research on the latest publications in the field. Molecular investigations retrieve information on properties often accessible only by expensive and time-consuming experimental techniques, such as those involved in the study of radical-based chain reactions. In this work, different quantum chemical techniques were used to study phenol oxidation by hydroxyl radicals in Advanced Oxidation Processes used for wastewater treatment. The results obtained by applying a DFT-based model showed good agreement with experimental values available, as well as qualitative insights into the mechanism of the overall reaction chain. Solvation models were also tried, but were found to be limited for this reaction system within the considered theoretical level without further parameterization.

Period adding cascades: Experiment and modeling in air bubbling

Period adding cascades have been observed experimentally/numerically in the dynamics of neurons and pancreatic cells, lasers, electric circuits, chemical reactions, oceanic internal waves, and also in air bubbling. We show that the period adding cascades appearing in bubbling from a nozzle submerged in a viscous liquid can be reproduced by a simple model, based on some hydrodynamical principles, dealing with the time evolution of two variables, bubble position and pressure of the air chamber, through a system of differential equations with a rule of detachment based on force balance. The model further reduces to an iterating one-dimensional map giving the pressures at the detachments, where time between bubbles come out as an observable of the dynamics. The model has not only good agreement with experimental data, but is also able to predict the influence of the main parameters involved, like the length of the hose connecting the air supplier with the needle, the needle radius and the needle length. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3695345]

Serologic and molecular diagnostic and bioassay in mice for detection of Toxoplasma gondii in free ranges chickens from Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul

Holsback L., Pena H.F.J., Ragozo A., Lopes E. G., Gennari S. M. & Soares R. M. 2012. Serologic and molecular diagnostic and bioassay in mice for detection of Toxoplasma gondii in free range chickens from Pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 32(8): 721-726. Setor de Veterinaria e Producao Animal, Universidade Estadual do Norte do Parana, Campus Luiz Meneghel, Rodovia BR 369 Km 54, Bandeirantes, PR 86360-000, Brazil. E-mail: lhsfertonani@uenp.edu.br The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii and compare the results obtained in the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT), Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and bioassay in mice. In order to accomplish this, 40 free-range chickens from eight farms in neighboring areas to the Pantanal in Nhecolandia, Mato Grosso do Sul, were euthanized and blood samples, brain and heart were collected. The occurrence of anti-T. gondii antibodies found in chickens was 67.5% (27 samples), considering as a cutoff point the dilution 1:5. Among the samples analyzed, 7 (25.9%) were positive in the dilution 1: 5, 3 (11.1%) in 1: 10, 2 (7.4%) in 1: 20, 3 (11.1%) in 1: 320, 1 (3.7%) in 1: 640, 3 (11.1%) in 1: 1280, 2 (7.4%) in 1: 2560, 4 (14.8%) in 1: 5120 and 2 (7.4%) in 1: 10.240. From the mixture of tissue samples (brain and heart) from the chickens analyzed, 16 (40%) presented electrophoretic bands compatible with T. gondii by PCR (gene B1). In the comparison of techniques, 59.26% positivity in PCR was revealed among animals that were seropositive in MAT (cutoff 1: 5). From 141 inoculated mice, six (4.44%) died of acute toxoplasmosis between 15 and 23 days after inoculation. Surviving mice were sacrificed at 74 days after inoculation, and a total of 28 cysts were found in the brains of 10 distinct groups. From the seropositive hens, 27 bioassays were performed and 11 (40.7%) isolates were obtained. A greater number of isolations happened in mice that were inoculated with tissues from chickens that had high titers for anti-T. gondii antibodies. Chronic infection in mice was observed in nine groups (33.3%) from five different properties. Among the surviving mice, 25.6% were positive for T. gondii in MAT (1: 25). From mice positive in PCR, 87.5% were also positive in MAT. Among the PCR-negative mice, 5.2% were positive for T. gondii in MAT. It can be concluded through this study that the occurrence of infecton by T. gondii in the rural properties studied was high, that PCR directed to gene B1 does not confirm the viability of the parasite, but it can be used as a screening method for the selection of chickens infected by T. gondii, that the animals with titer greater than 10 must be prioritized for the selection of animals for bioassay, since for them, the chances of isolating the parasite are greater and that seroconversion in experimentally infected mice is not a good indicator for isolating the agent.

Ethanol consumption increases the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase, inducible nitric oxide synthase and metalloproteinases in the rat kidney

Objectives The effects of longterm ethanol consumption on the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were studied in rat kidney. Methods Male Wistar rats were treated with 20% ethanol (v/v) for 6 weeks. Nitrite and nitrate generation was measured by chemiluminescence. Protein and mRNA levels of eNOS and iNOS were assessed by immunohistochemistry and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, respectively. MMP-2 activity was determined by gelatin zymography. Histopathological changes in kidneys and indices of renal function (creatinine and urea) and tissue injury (mitochondrial respiration) were also investigated. Results Chronic ethanol consumption did not alter malondialdehyde levels in the kidney. Ethanol consumption induced a significant increase in renal nitrite and nitrate levels. Treatment with ethanol increased mRNA expression of both eNOS and iNOS. Immunohistochemical assays showed increased immunostaining for eNOS and iNOS after treatment with ethanol. Kidneys from ethanol-treated rats showed increased activity of MMP-2. Histopathological investigation of kidneys from ethanol-treated animals revealed tubular necrosis. Indices of renal function and tissue injury were not altered in ethanol-treated rats. Conclusions Ethanol consumption increased renal metalloproteinase expression/activity, which was accompanied by histopathological changes in the kidney and elevated NO generation. Since iNOS-derived NO and MMPs contribute to progressive renal injury, the increased levels of NO and MMPs observed in ethanol-treated rats might contribute to progressive renal damage.

Do charges to freight trucks and trains in the European Union reflect their social marginal costs? Application to the case of Spain

In the last few years, the European Union (EU) has become greatly concerned about the environmental costs of road transport in Europe as a result of the constant growth in the market share of trucks and the steady decline in the market share of railroads. In order to reverse this trend, the EU is promoting the implementation of additional charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGV) on the trunk roads of the EU countries. However, the EU policy is being criticised because it does not address the implementation of charges to internalise the external costs produced by automobiles and other transport modes such as railroad. In this paper, we first describe the evolution of the HGV charging policy in the EU, and then assess its practical implementation across different European countries. Second, and of greater significance, by using the case study of Spain, we evaluate to what extent the current fees on trucks and trains reflect their social marginal costs, and consequently lead to an allocative-efficient outcome. We found that for the average case in Spain the truck industry meets more of the marginal social cost produced by it than does the freight railroad industry. The reason for this lies in the large sums of money paid by truck companies in fuel taxes, and the subsidies that continue to be granted by the government to the railroads.