Lixiviação de glyphosate e imazapyr em solos com diferentes texturas e composição química: I - método do bioensaio

A mobilidade dos herbicidas no perfil do solo é influenciada por vários processos, tais como, retenção, transformação e transporte. O conhecimento destes fenômenos é fundamental para a perfeita compreensão do destino de tais produtos no ambiente. Dentre as várias técnicas utilizadas nesses estudos, o método do bioensaio apresenta-se como de ótima representatividade e reprodutibilidade. Em razão dessas características, associadas a poucas informações sobre a mobilidade de herbicidas nos solos sob condições tropicais, foi conduzido um bioensaio objetivando verificar o movimento vertical do glyphosate e do imazapyr, em colunas de solos de diferentes texturas e composição química, utilizando-se o tomateiro (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill var. Santa Clara) como planta-teste. Os resultados desse estudo permitiram concluir que: a) o limite de detecção do bioensaio para o glyphosate e para o imazapyr corresponde ao menor valor de I50, obtido na curva padrão, 331,52 e 5,4 µg L-1, respectivamente; b) as concentrações do glyphosate biologicamente ativo nos lixiviados dos solos de Viçosa e de Sabará encontram-se abaixo do limite de detecção do bioensaio; c) o glyphosate apresentou, na coluna de 1 cm, mobilidade muito baixa nos solos estudados; d) a mobilidade do imazapyr, na coluna de 30 cm, é maior no solo de textura francoarenosa de Viçosa; e) o alto teor de argila e de matéria orgânica do solo de Sabará apresentam-se como os principais fatores de retenção do imazapyr nesse solo.

A novel polymorphism in the coding region of the vasopressin type 2 receptor gene

Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) is a rare disease characterized by renal inability to respond properly to arginine vasopressin due to mutations in the vasopressin type 2 receptor (V2(R)) gene in affected kindreds. In most kindreds thus far reported, the mode of inheritance follows an X chromosome-linked recessive pattern although autosomal-dominant and autosomal-recessive modes of inheritance have also been described. Studies demonstrating mutations in the V2(R) gene in affected kindreds that modify the receptor structure, resulting in a dys- or nonfunctional receptor have been described, but phenotypically indistinguishable NDI patients with a structurally normal V2(R) gene have also been reported. In the present study, we analyzed exon 3 of the V2(R) gene in 20 unrelated individuals by direct sequencing. A C®T alteration in the third position of codon 331 (AGC®AGT), which did not alter the encoded amino acid, was found in nine individuals, including two unrelated patients with NDI. Taken together, these observations emphasize the molecular heterogeneity of a phenotypically homogeneous syndrome

Jätteenpolton tulevaisuus Suomessa

Vuonna 2013 Suomessa astui voimaan Valtioneuvoston asetus kaatopaikoista 331/2013. Siinä asetettiin muun muassa rajoituksia orgaanisen ja biohajoavan aineksen sijoittamisesta kaatopaikoille. Tämä rajoitus astuu voimaan 1. tammikuuta 2016 alkaen, josta lähtien kaatopaikoille sijoitettava jäte ei saa sisältää yli 10 prosenttia orgaanista tai biohajoaaa ainesta. Asetus aiheutti muutos paineen Suomen jätesektorille, jossa perinteisesti oltiin suurin osa jätteestä sijoitettu kaatopaikoille. Edelleen suurin osa syntyvistä jätteistä sijoitetaan kaatopaikoille, mutta yhdyskuntajätteen energiahyödyntäminen on kasvattanut roolia huomattavasti. Kun 2000-luvun alussa Suomen jätteenpolttolaitosten kapasiteetti oli vielä 50 000 tonnia jätettä vuodessa, on kapasiteetti vuonna 2016 lähes 1,7 miljoonaa tonnia. Vuonna 2016 Suomessa on yhdeksän toiminnassa olevaa jätteenpolttolaitosta ja työn tarkasteluhetkellä uusia ei ole suunnitteilla. On todennäköistä, ettei jätteenpolttolaitosten kapasitetti nouse enää huomattavasti, koska poltettavan jätteen määrä on rajallinen ja kapasiteetin nostaminen vaatisi jätteen tuomista muualta.

Fludarabine induces apoptosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia - the role of P53, Bcl-2, Bax, Mcl-1, and Bag-1 proteins

The expression of P53, Bcl-2, Bax, Bag-1, and Mcl-1 proteins in CD5/CD20-positive B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) cells from 30 typical CLL patients was evaluated before and after 48 h of incubation with 10-6 M fludarabine using multiparametric flow cytometric analysis. Protein expression was correlated with annexin V expression, Rai modified clinical staging, lymphocyte doubling time, and previous treatment. Our main goal was to determine the predictive value of these proteins in CLL cells in terms of disease evolution. Bcl-2 expression decreased from a median fluorescence index (MFI) of 331.71 ± 42.2 to 245.81 ± 52.2 (P < 0.001) after fludarabine treatment, but there was no difference between viable cells (331.57 ± 44.6 MFI) and apoptotic cells (331.71 ± 42.2 MFI) before incubation (P = 0.859). Bax expression was higher in viable cells (156.24 ± 32.2 MFI) than in apoptotic cells (133.56 ± 35.7 MFI) before incubation, probably reflecting defective apoptosis in CLL (P = 0.001). Mcl-1 expression was increased in fludarabine-resistant cells and seemed to be a remarkable protein for the inhibition of the apoptotic process in CLL (from 233.59 ± 29.8 to 252.04 ± 35.5; P = 0.033). After fludarabine treatment, Bag-1 expression was increased in fludarabine-resistant cells (from 425.55 ± 39.3 to 447.49 ± 34.5 MFI, P = 0.012), and interestingly, this higher expression occurred in patients who had a short lymphocyte doubling time (P = 0.022). Therefore, we could assume that Bag-1 expression in such situation might identify CLL patients who will need treatment earlier.

miRNA expression profiles in chronic lymphocytic and acute lymphocytic leukemia

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small endogenous RNAs that play important regulatory roles by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression. miRNAs act in diverse biological processes including development, cell growth, apoptosis, and hematopoiesis, suggesting their association with cancer. We determined the miRNA expression profile of chronic and acute lymphocytic leukemias (CLL and ALL) using the TaqMan® MicroRNA Assays Human Panel (Applied Biosystems). Pooled leukemia samples were compared to pooled CD19+ samples from healthy individuals (calibrator) by the 2-DDCt method. Total RNA input was normalized based on the Ct values obtained for hsa-miR-30b. The five most highly expressed miRNAs were miR-128b, miR-204, miR-218, miR-331, and miR-181b-1 in ALL, and miR-331, miR-29a, miR-195, miR-34a, and miR-29c in CLL. To our knowledge, this is the first report associating miR-128b, miR-204 and miR-331 to hematological malignancies. The miR-17-92 cluster was also found to be up-regulated in ALL, as previously reported for some types of lymphomas. The differences observed in gene expression levels were validated for miR-331 and miR-128b in ALL and CD19+ samples. These miRNAs were up-regulated in ALL, in agreement with our initial results. A brief target analysis was performed for miR-331. One of its putative targets, SOCS1, promotes STAT activation, which is a known mediator of cell proliferation and survival, suggesting the possibility of an association between miR-331 and these processes. This initial screening provided information on miRNA differentially expressed in normal and malignant B-cells that could suggest the potential roles of these miRNAs in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis.

Lingvarum ebraeae et finnicae convenientia

Variantti A.

Identification of microRNAs and mRNAs associated with multidrug resistance of human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells

Multidrug resistance (MDR) poses a serious impediment to the success of chemotherapy for laryngeal cancer. To identify microRNAs and mRNAs associated with MDR of human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells, we developed a multidrug-resistant human laryngeal cancer subline, designated Hep-2/v, by exposing Hep-2 cells to stepwise increasing concentrations of vincristine (0.02-0.96'µM). Microarray assays were performed to compare the microRNA and mRNA expression profiles of Hep-2 and Hep-2/v cells. Compared to Hep-2 cells, Hep-2/v cells were more resistant to chemotherapy drugs (∼45-fold more resistant to vincristine, 5.1-fold more resistant to cisplatin, and 5.6-fold more resistant to 5-fluorouracil) and had a longer doubling time (42.33±1.76 vs 28.75±1.12'h, P<0.05), higher percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase (80.98±0.52 vs69.14±0.89, P<0.05), increased efflux of rhodamine 123 (95.97±0.56 vs 12.40±0.44%, P<0.01), and up-regulated MDR1 expression. A total of 7 microRNAs and 605 mRNAs were differentially expressed between the two cell types. Of the differentially expressed mRNAs identified, regulator of G-protein signaling 10, high-temperature requirement protein A1, and nuclear protein 1 were found to be the putative targets of the differentially expressed microRNAs identified. These findings may open a new avenue for clarifying the mechanisms responsible for MDR in laryngeal cancer.

Global microRNA profiles and signaling pathways in the development of cardiac hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is a major predictor of progressive heart disease and has an adverse prognosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that accumulate during the course of cardiac hypertrophy may participate in the process. However, the nature of any interaction between a hypertrophy-specific signaling pathway and aberrant expression of miRNAs remains unclear. In this study, Spague Dawley male rats were treated with transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery to mimic pathological hypertrophy. Hearts were isolated from TAC and sham operated rats (n=5 for each group at 5, 10, 15, and 20 days after surgery) for miRNA microarray assay. The miRNAs dysexpressed during hypertrophy were further analyzed using a combination of bioinformatics algorithms in order to predict possible targets. Increased expression of the target genes identified in diverse signaling pathways was also analyzed. Two sets of miRNAs were identified, showing different expression patterns during hypertrophy. Bioinformatics analysis suggested the miRNAs may regulate multiple hypertrophy-specific signaling pathways by targeting the member genes and the interaction of miRNA and mRNA might form a network that leads to cardiac hypertrophy. In addition, the multifold changes in several miRNAs suggested that upregulation of rno-miR-331*, rno-miR-3596b, rno-miR-3557-5p and downregulation of rno-miR-10a, miR-221, miR-190, miR-451 could be seen as biomarkers of prognosis in clinical therapy of heart failure. This study described, for the first time, a potential mechanism of cardiac hypertrophy involving multiple signaling pathways that control up- and downregulation of miRNAs. It represents a first step in the systematic discovery of miRNA function in cardiovascular hypertrophy.

Lingvarum ebraeae et finnicae convenientia

Variantti B.

Density and rheological parameters of goat milk

The rheological behavior and density of goat milk was studied as a function of solids concentration (10.5 to 50.0%) and temperature (273 to 331 k). Newtonian behavior was observed for values of total solids (TS) between 10.5 and 22.0% and temperatures from 276 to 331 k changing to pseudoplastic behavior without yield stress for TS from 25.0 to 39.4% at the same range of temperature. Goat milk with TS between 44.3 to 50.0% and temperatures of 273 to 296 k showed yield stress in addition to pseudoplastic behavior. At 303 to 331 k the power law model was observed again, without yield stress. The density of goat milk ranged from 991.7 to 1232.4 kg.m-3.

Rapuja Etelä-Savoon – hallittu istuttaminen

Rapuruton ja täpläravun yhdessä aiheuttama jokiravun elinalueiden supistuminen on yksi raputalouden suurimmista haasteista. Etelä-Savon pienvesistöalueet mahdollistavat jokiravun säilyttämisen ja hyödyntämisen sekä reittivesistöt täpläraputuotannon hallitun kasvattamisen. Raputalouden kehittämiseen on hyvät mahdollisuudet. Hoitosuunnitelman tavoitteena on ottaa huomion molempien lajien kannalta parhaat menestymisen edellytykset ja lisätä vesistöjen raputuottoa sekä ravustusmahdollisuuksia. Samalla pyritään keskittämään tiedottamista sekä rahoitusta alkuperäisten jokirapukantojen säilyttämiseksi ja elvyttämiseksi. Täplärapuistutukset sallitaan vesistöissä, joissa se on tuottoisa, eikä uhkaa jokirapukantoja. Hoitosuunnitelmassa on määritetty jokiravun suoja-alueet ja kalaviranomaisten istutuslupaharkintaa varten ne vesistöt, jotka täyttävät kansallisen rapustrategian mukaiset ehdot täplärapuistutuksille. Täplärapujen istutusten ja siirtojen tulee olla tarkoin harkittuja, koska täplärapujen kantama rapurutto muodostaa vesistöissä pysyvän tartuntalähteen. Täpläravun leviäminen lisää rapuruton riskiä sekä vähentää alkuperäisen ja arvokkaan jokiravun elinmahdollisuuksia. Etelä-Savon raputaloutta tulee kehittää hallitusti ja yhteistyöllä sekä aktiivisesti tiedottamalla. Kalastusalueet, osakaskunnat ja neuvontajärjestöt ovat avainasemassa ravustuskulttuurin kehittämisessä ja jokirapukantojen säilyttämisessä.