Natural radionuclides in major aquifer systems of the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil

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

A comparative study of aquifer systems occurring at the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil: major hydrochemical trends

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

Soroprevalência de Borrelia burgdorferi latu sensu associada à presença de carrapatos em cães de áreas rurais do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Pesquisou-se a presença de anticorpos contra Borrelia burgdorferi latu sensu em cães de áreas rurais de sete municípios do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, pelo ensaio imunoenzimático indireto, associando-se os resultados com a presença de carrapatos nestes animais. de 199 cães examinados, 15,58% estavam positivos, com títulos que variaram de 400 (13,57%) a 1600 (0,5%). Os casos positivos se distribuíram uniformemente nos sete municípios. Não houve diferença estatística (P > 0,05) de soropositivos entre as faixas etárias dos cães acima de seis meses. Carrapatos foram encontrados e coletados em 71 (35,68%) cães, dos quais 24,1% estavam infestados com Amblyomma cajennense, 13,6% com Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 2,5% com Amblyomma aureolatum e 1,5% com Amblyomma ovale. Dos animais soropositivos para B. burgdorferi, 38,7% apresentavam A. cajennense e 22,6% apresentavam R. sanguineus, não havendo, entretanto, correlação positiva entre a presença do carrapato e sorologia positiva.

Ocorrência de anticorpos anti-Brucella abortus e anti-Brucella canis em cães rurais e urbanos do Município de Monte Negro, Rondônia, Brasil

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

Desempenho em testes de força estática: comparação entre trabalhadores hipertensos e normotensos

OBJETIVO: O objetivo do estudo foi comparar o desempenho em testes de força estática entre trabalhadores hipertensos e normotensos, seguindo a hipótese dos hipertensos apresentarem menor força que os normotensos. MÉTODOS: Participaram da pesquisa 354 trabalhadores (246 homens e 108 mulheres), que foram submetidos a medidas de estatura, massa corporal, circunferência de cintura, aferição da pressão arterial sistólica e diastólica e a testes de preensão manual direita e esquerda, força escapular e lombar. As avaliações ocorreram em três dias nos três períodos, em uma indústria de balas e doces em Rio Claro - SP. As leituras da pressão arterial respeitaram um intervalo de 10 minutos cada, com o indivíduo sentado. Para os testes de força, inicialmente uma familiarização foi proporcionada aos trabalhadores, posteriormente foi registrado o maior valor após duas tentativas de cada teste. RESULTADOS: Os indivíduos hipertensos apresentaram valores superiores significativamente para idade, massa corporal, índice de massa corporal e circunferência de cintura, em comparação aos normotensos. No desempenho em testes de força, os hipertensos não diferiram significativamente dos normotensos, porém, essa diferença foi notada quando comparados grupos divididos pelo índice de massa corporal. O grupo obesidade teve valores superiores ao grupo peso normal/sobrepeso entre normotensos, mas não entre os hipertensos. Já na comparação intragênero, não houve diferenças significativas para os testes de força estática. CONCLUSÃO: Os trabalhadores normotensos e hipertensos não demonstraram diferenças significativas no desempenho de força muscular estática, porém, a massa corporal e gênero parecem afetar a relação entre força muscular e pressão arterial.

Efeito de estresse ambiental sobre a pressão arterial de trabalhadores

OBJETIVO: Analisar o comportamento de pressão arterial (PA) e a freqüência cardíaca (Fc) de indivíduos ao longo da jornada de trabalho em dois ambientes com estresses ambientais distintos. MÉTODOS: Foram avaliados 46 funcionários, trabalhadores de uma indústria processadora de madeira, de Botucatu, SP, sendo 27 funcionários da linha de produção (esforço físico moderado-intenso, altas temperaturas e elevados níveis de ruído) (G1), e 19 da administração (sem esforço físico, salas aclimatadas, baixos níveis de ruído) (G2). Todos foram submetidos a avaliação antropométrica da composição corporal (obesidade e adiposidade) e bioquímica do sangue (lipidemia) e, adicionalmente, o registro da PA e da Fc em três momentos do turno de serviço: início, meio e fim. RESULTADOS: Houve semelhança na variação da PA entre G1 e G2, mas com maiores elevações de PA e Fc em G1. Os resultados mostraram grande variabilidade na resposta da PA, levando à subdivisão dos grupos G1 e G2 em respondedores (GR, aumento maior de 10% na PA média) e não respondedores (GN). Os subgrupos GR e GN apresentaram semelhanças nos padrões antropométrico e bioquímico diferindo apenas na resposta pressórica e no caso do GR1 na história familiar de hipertensão. Comparando os subgrupos GR1 e GR2, foi constatado que os primeiros apresentaram maiores variações de PA e Fc que os segundos. CONCLUSÕES: A variação individual da resposta pressórica e da Fc conforme o tipo de estresse ambiental indica ser este um fator adicional a ser considerado na avaliação da pressão arterial e, talvez, na gênese da hipertensão arterial de operários.

Uranium speciation in groundwaters from Parana basin, Brazil

This paper describes the results of a regional study involving the sampling of 60 pumped tubular wells drilled at the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil, which was carried out with the purpose of evaluating the U speciation in the Botucatu-Piramboia aquifer. Uranium proved to be intensively dissolved even under the enhanced reducing conditions occurring at the most confined zones of the aquifer, and Eh-pH diagrams were utilized to evaluate the influence of temperature and pressure on the migration of the U-species within the aquifer.

Collection of Fafia [Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen] in northwestern state of Parana-Brazil

Interviews were conducted with fafia (Pfaffia glomerata (Spreng.) Pedersen) collectors from the municipal districts of Querencia do Norte and Porto Rico, where enterprises and buyers of this plant are concentrated. The results allowed us to conclude that both the adults and children make collection. Each adult collects from 50 to 150 kg of roots/day, depending on the collection area, for about 8 months/year. Collections mostly occur all over the year, but the activity becomes more intense from May to August. All families are not exclusively dedicated to fafia collection and also develop other rural activities. They have been collecting fafia for 2 to 13 years, indicating that an intensive exploitation has been present in the region for over a decade. During collection, no plant part is used for replanting the species. The roots are commercialised by regional buyers. The price of the roots varies from US $ 0.07 to US $ 0.13/kg and average gain is about US $ 2,055/family/year, representing a considerable profit for the collectors.

Temporal distribution and composition of the ichthyoplankton from Leopoldo's Inlet on the Upper Parana River floodplain (Brazil)

Temporal distribution and composition of ichthyoplankton and their relationships with some environmental variables of Leopoldo's Inlet (Ressaco do Leopoldo) on the upper Parana River floodplain, southern Brazil, were analysed. Samples were taken from February 1991 to February 1992, and 3480 larvae were collected. The highest density of larvae was observed in November 1991 (36.79 larvae/ 10 m(3)) at night (night/day ratio 7: 1). Species composition showed a predominance of Characiformes (80%). There was a high density (4.28 larvae/10 m(3)) of Bryconamericus stramineus throughout almost the whole study period, the majority of the species were more frequently collected at night. Pearson's correlation indicated a relationship between larval density, temperature, and pluviometric index. Leopoldo's Inlet, whose ichthyofauna is mainly composed of grazing and resident species. shows favourable conditions for fish reproduction and development.

Genetic structure of Blastocerus dichotomus populations in the Parana River basin (Brazil) based on protein variability

The population structure of 147 marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) from three areas in the Parana River basin, Brazil, was studied by observing protein polymorphism at 17 loci. Six loci were polymorphic and 11 monomorphic. The proportion of polymorphic loci (P) was 35.29% and the average heterozygosity (H) was 6.31%. Wright's F-ST indicated that only 4.9% of the total variation in allelic frequencies was due to genetic differences between the three groups. The high value of F-IS (0.246) indicated inbreeding in the marsh deer. Genetic distance values (D = 0.014-0.051) showed little divergence between the three areas. We suggest that probable mechanisms accounting for the genetic structure are female phylopatry and polygyny and also that inbreeding has resulted from decreasing areas of wetland leading to isolation, overhunting, and diseases transmitted by cattle.

Thermotectonic and fault dynamic analysis of Precambrian basement and tectonic constraints with the Parana basin

The Precambrian crystalline basement of southeast Brazil is affected by many Phanerozoic reactivations of shear zones that developed during the end of the Neoproterozoic in the Brasiliano orogeny. These reactivations with specific tectonic events, a multidisciplinary study was done, involving geology, paleostress, and structural analysis of faults, associated with apatite fission track methods along the northeastern border of the Parana basin in southeast Brazil.The results show that the study area consists of three main tectonic domains, which record different episodes of uplift and reactivation of faults. These faults were brittle in character and resulted in multiple generations of fault products as pseudotachylytes and ultracataclasites, foliated cataclasites and fault gouges.Based on geological evidence and fission track data, an uplift of basement rocks and related tectonic subsidence with consequent deposition in the Parana basin were modeled.The reactivations of the basement record successive uplift events during the Phanerozoic dated via corrected fission track ages, at 387 +/- 50 Ma (Ordovician); 193 +/- 19 Ma (Triassic); 142 +/- 18 Ma (Jurassic), 126 +/- 11 Ma (Early Cretaceous); 89 +/- 10 Ma (Late Cretaceous) and 69 +/- 10 Ma (Late Cretaceous). These results indicate differential uplift of tectonic domains of basement units, probably related to Parana basin subsidence. Six major sedimentary units (supersequences) that have been deposited with their bounding unconformities, seem to have a close relationship with the orogenic events during the evolution of southwestern Gondwana. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dissolved radioelements in (oil) water wells in Parana basin, Brazil

This paper describes the results of a study on groundwaters from Tubarao Group at the Parana sedimentary basin, São Paulo State, Brazil. The purpose of this study was to integrate chemical and U-isotopes data in order to evaluate the models for quantifying different relative volumes of mixing waters in a resultant water. Despite it was possible to generate a typical triangle involving U-238 and its daughter U-234, the U-isotopes model failed to interpret the major hydrochemical facies observed in the studied localities.

The use of U-isotopes on the study of a weathered cover in Parana basin, Brazil

This paper describes the results of a study involving the sampling of a soil profile developed over sandstone from Itarare Sub-Group at the Parana sedimentary basin, Brazil. It was carried out to integrate chemical and U-isotopes data in order to improve the knowledge of the weathering processes acting in the area. U-238 and its daughter U-234 proved to be important tools for evaluating physical and chemical alteration, allowing to suggest a possible timescale for the development of the more superficial soil horizons.

First record of petrified Permian pecopterids from the Parana Basin, Brazil (Corumbatai Formation, Passa Dois Group, northeastern State of São Paulo): Morphology, anatomy and paleoecological implications

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

A formação de trabalhadores brasileiros: a experiência do Colégio Isabel

Colegio Isabel was a project that aimed to "civilize" the indigenous children who lived in the Vale do Araguaia region, Goias Province, to educate national workers and, progressively, incorporate the lands owned by the Indians in the productive process. Colegio Isabel allowed its students a marginal integration in the society, assigning them functions that the so called "civilized" people considered degrading. The egress students lived an ambiguous and marginal life, regarding the original ethnic groups and the adopted society.