Biosolid soil application: Toxicity tests under laboratory conditions

A large volume of generated sewage sludge makes its disposal a problem. The usage of sludge in agriculture is highlighted by a number of advantages. However, heavy metals and other toxic compounds may exercise harmful effects to soil organisms. This study evaluated the possible toxic effects of a biosolid sample, under laboratory conditions, for 30 days, using diplopods Rhinocricus padbergi and plants Allium cepa (onion) as test organisms. The data obtained demonstrated that the biosolid raw sample had genotoxic potential for Allium cepa root tip cells. In the diplopods exposed to biosolid sample, epithelium disorganization in the midgut and a reduction of the volume of the hepatic cells were observed after 7 days of exposure. After 30 days, the animals still showed a reduction of the volume of the hepatic cells, but in minor intensity. Allium cepa analysis showed genotoxicity, but this effect was reduced after 30 days of bioprocessing by diplopods. This study was important to know the effects as well as to determine how this waste could be applied concerning the soil living organisms and plants. © 2012 Cintya Ap. Christofoletti et al.

Nos gramados do Sul: A seleção baiana de futebol e o torneio do Centenário da Independência em 1922

This article aims to understand how the participation and performance of the state of Bahia at the I Campeonato Brasileiro de Seleções (I Brazilian Soccer Championship), also known as the Torneio do Centenário (Centenary Championship) in 1922 represented an opportunity for the state to claim a centrality in the formation of a national identity associated with soccer. The tournament was conceived as a draft for the formation of a national soccer team that would participate in the VI Campeonato Sul Americano (VI South American Championship) in Brazil. In addition, the event also came to be regarded as a celebration of the fi rst centenary of the Independence, a date that has encouraged the country to refl ect upon its national identity, as well as to reconsider its insertion in modernity. Bahia did well in the tournament, ensuring the second position. As a result, the local press went on to claim the participation of their athletes in the national team and to criticize the disregard of the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo towards the Northern region of the country. The local press would also challenge the policies of the Confederação Brasileira de Desportos (Brazilian Sports Confederation), the CBD, claiming that they favored the Southern states. Moreover, for the local elites the success of Bahia in the tournament represented the strength and greatness of the state, which gave them the right to claim a greater space and role in the destiny of the country. Finally, the performance of Bahia and its consequences have allowed us to question the limits and peculiarities of the formation of a national identity through the sport, at a moment when the country sought to rethink their identity historically marked by disputes and regional tensions.

Clastogenicity of landfarming soil treated with sugar cane vinasse

The addition of nutrients and/or soil bulking agents is used in bioremediation to increase microbial activity in contaminated soils. For this purpose, some studies have assessed the effectiveness of vinasse in the bioremediation of soils contaminated with petroleum waste. The present study was aimed at investigating the clastogenic/aneugenic potential of landfarming soil from a petroleum refinery before and after addition of sugar cane vinasse using the Allium cepa bioassay. Our results show that the addition of sugar cane vinasse to landfarming soil potentiates the clastogenic effects of the latter probably due the release of metals that were previously adsorbed into the organic matter. These metals may have interacted synergistically with petroleum hydrocarbons present in the landfarming soil treated with sugar cane vinasse. We recommend further tests to monitor the effects of sugar cane vinasse on soils contaminated with organic wastes. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

A influência do uso e ocupação do solo na qualidade e genotoxicidade da água no reservatório de itupararanga, São Paulo, Brasil

The Brazilian reservoirs have been under great anthropogenic pressure due to continued population growth, which in turn places great pressures on the environment. Given this issue, this study aimed to analyze the influence of land use on the quality and genotoxicity of water in the Itupararanga reservoir, São Paulo, Brazil. Water and sediment samples were analyzed for their quality, genotoxicity and benthic diversity, as well as their interrelationship with the landscape. The reservoir was found to be eutrophic in most sampling stations, and genetic al terations were found in radicular cells of exposed Allium cepa in some sampling stations, besides a low diversity of benthic organisms. Among the variables that most contributed to the genetic alterations and water quality are the presence of riparian vegetation, the bare soil and urban occupation. With the results obtained in this study it was concluded that the quality of water and sediment at the Itupararanga reservoir is compromised, requiring emergency managements to ensure the sustainability of water resources.

Could contaminant induced mutations lead to a genetic diversity overestimation?

Contaminant driven genetic erosion reported through the inspection of selectable traits can be underestimated using neutral markers. This divergence was previously reported in the aquatic system of an abandoned pyrite mine. The most sensitive genotypes of the microcrustacean cladoceran Daphnia longispina were found to be lacking in the impacted reservoir near the entrance of the metal rich acid mine drainage (AMD). Since that divergence could be, at least partially, accounted for by mutagenicity and genotoxicity of the AMD, the present study aimed at providing such a characterization. The Allium cepa chromosomal aberration assay, using root meristematic cells, was carried out, by exposing seeds to 100, 10, 1, and 0.1 % of the local AMD. Chromosomal aberrations, cell division phases and cell death were quantified after the AMD exposure and after 24 and 48 h recovery periods. The AMD revealed to be mutagenic and genotoxic, even after diluting it to 1 and 0.1 %. Dilutions within this range were previously found to be below the lethality threshold and to elicit sublethal effects on reproduction of locally collected D. longispina clonal lineages Significant mutagenic effects (micronuclei and chromosomal breaks) were also found at 0.1 % AMD, supporting that exposure may induce permanent genetic alterations. Recovery tests showed that AMD genotoxic effects persisted after the exposure. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Influenza among the elderly in the Americas: A consensus statement

Influenza exacts a heavy burden on the elderly, a segment of the population that is estimated to experience rapid growth in the near future. In the past decade most developed and several developing countries have recommended influenza vaccination for those > 65 years of age. The World Health Organization (WHO) set a goal of 75% influenza vaccination coverage among the elderly by 2010, but it was not achieved. In 2011, the Technical Advisory Group at the Pan American Health Organization, Regional Office of WHO for the Americas, reiterated the influenza vaccine recommendation for older adults. Relatively little information has been compiled on the immunological aspect of aging or on reducing its impact, information particularly relevant for clinicians and gerontologist with firsthand experience confronting its effects. To fill this data gap, in 2012 the Americas Health Foundation (Washington, D.C., United States) and the nonprofit, Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries (Miami, Florida, United States), convened a panel of Latin American clinicians and gerontologists with expertise in influenza to discuss key issues and develop a consensus statement. The major recommendations were to improve influenza surveillance throughout Latin America so that its impact can be quantified; and to conduct laboratory confirmation of influenza for all patients who have flu-like symptoms and are frail, immunosuppressed, have comorbidities, are respiratory compromised, or have been admitted to a hospital. The panel also noted that: since evidence for antivirals in the elderly is unclear, their use should be handled on a case-by-case basis; despite decreased immunological response, influenza vaccination in older adults is still crucial; indirect immunization strategies should be encouraged; and traditional infection control measures are essential in long-term care facilities.

Programas de la Organización de Estados Americanos relacionados con la urbanización en América Latina = Programmes of the Organization of American States connected with urbanization in Latin America

Los documentos del Seminario fueron publicados por UNESCO en 1961 con el título: La urbanización en América Latina/Urbanization in Latin America

Avaliação das estruturas químicas derivadas de diaminas do ferroceno no metabolismo oxidativo em cepas de Trypanosoma cruzi

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Estudo da atividade antimicobacteriana de extratos vegetais do cerrado brasileiro

Pós-graduação em Biociências e Biotecnologia Aplicadas à Farmácia - FCFAR

Informe de la Reunión de Coordinación Interagencial sobre Estadísticas de Género

La Unidad Mujer y Desarrollo de la CEPAL presenta el Informe de la Reunión de Coordinación Interagencial sobre Estadísticas de Género (Santiago de Chile, 7 al 10 de octubre de 2002);, donde especialistas en estadísticas y estudios de género adoptaron un conjunto de recomendaciones con vistas a la definición de un conjunto básico de indicadores de género y a la armonización de la metodología de asistencia técnica que entregan en este ámbito los organismos del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas. Las organizaciones participantes incluyeron el Fondo de Población de las Naciones Unidas (FNUAP);; el Fondo de Desarrollo de las Naciones Unidas para la Mujer (UNIFEM);; el Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (UNICEF);; la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT);; la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Agricultura y la Alimentación (FAO);; la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (UNESCO);; la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS);; el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD);; el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID);; la Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO); y la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL);.

Avaliação do potencial genotóxico e mutagênico de águas e sedimentos do rio Guaecá, São Sebastião - SP, após impacto de oleoduto da região

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Celular e Molecular) - IBRC

Avaliação da genotoxicidade e mutagenicidade das águas dos rios Jaguari, Atibaia e Piracicaba, na região de influência da refinaria de Paulínia - SP

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

Avaliação do potencial genotóxico e mutagênico de amostras de águas de recursos hídricos que recebem efluentes urbanos e industriais do pólo ceramista da cidade de Santa Gertrudes - SP

Pós-graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Celular e Molecular) - IBRC