Análise faunística de himenópteros visitantes florais em fragmento de cerradão em Itirapina, SP

Bees are considered one of the most efficient pollinators. Therefore, they have Indisputable role in the plants reproduction, since they increase the quality and quantity of fruit and seeds, and thus they help the ecosystems maintenance. Cerrado is one of the most affected ecosystems due to the growth of human activities, drastically reducing its biodiversity. The faunistic analysis identifies the species and the size of the populations, and can also indicate the degree of environmental Impact on a particular area. Surveys on flower-visiting hymenoptera in a cerradao area, with 40ha, in the Experimental Station of Itiparina (SP), were conducted every fifteen days from March 2003 to February 2004. From 181 insects collected, the Apidae family was represented by the largest number of species and individuals. The species Apis mellifera (55.8%), Trigona spinipes (14.4%) and Exomalopsis (Exomalopsis) sp. (8.3%) were the most prevalent fit the area. Among the bees species collected, 30.8% were classified as sociable and 69.2% as solitary. Considering all hymenoptera collected, 59.7% preferred the morning period and 40.3% the afternoon period for foraging and/or visiting. The Diversity index (Shannon-Wiener) H was 1.6933, V(H) = 0.0123 and Uniformity index E = 0.5652, following pattern found in other areas of cerrado.

Sociedade e gestão do risco: o aquífero Guarani em Ribeirão Preto-SP, Brasil

Contemporary society creates risks of all kinds, changing the meaning of this term. Although it may be associated with natural hazards, it gradually assumes a stronger relation with human actions, especially due to the use of technology. The use of land for agricultural and urban activities creates the possibility of contamination in the recharge area of the Guarani aquifer in the municipality of Ribeirao Preto, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This city is one of the most important in the state with high economic development. Besides this, it is located in the recharge area of the main reservoir of underground water of South Cone. This paper aims to discuss the management of groundwater use in Ribeirao Preto and reflects the risk that contamination and overexploitation might cause to the main city's water supply.

Endophytic and entomopathogenic strains of Beauveria sp to control the bovine tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Pathogenicity of strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and endophytic strains of Beauveria sp against the bovine tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus was tested in laboratory bioassays and under field conditions. Suspensions containing 10(5), 10(7) and 10(9) conidia/mL were prepared of each fungal strain for laboratory bioassays. The ticks were maintained at 28 degrees C, 90 +/- 5% relative humidity, and the following variables were evaluated: initial female weight, egg weight, hatching percentage, reproductive efficiency, and percentage control. For tests under field conditions, a Beauveria suspension containing 10(6) conidia/mL was sprayed on tick-infested cows. After 72 h, the ticks were collected to estimate mortality under field conditions. Laboratory bioassays showed a mortality of 20 to 50% of the ticks seven days after inoculation with 10(7) Beauveria conidia/mL. Under field conditions 10(6) Beauveria conidia/mL induced 18-32% mortality. All Beauveria strains were effective in biological control of R. (Boophilus) microplus under laboratory and field test conditions. This is the first demonstration that endophytic fungi can be used for biological control of the cattle tick; this could help reduce environmental contamination by diminishing the need for chemical acaricides. Two endophytic strains were isolated from maize leaves and characterized by molecular sequencing of 5.8S rDNA ITS1 and ITS2 and morphological analyses of conidia. We found that these two endophytic Beauveria isolates, designated B95 and B157, are close to Beauveria amorpha.

Monocoryne colonialis sp nov., a colonial candelabrid hydroid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Candelabridae) from the North Pacific

Monocoryne colonialis sp. nov. is described from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The new species is unusual among candelabrid hydroids in having a colonial growth form, differing from its congeners in the shape and size of hydranths, in having stolons that anastomose, and by having tentacles not fused or only partly fused into bract-like structures.

Purification and characterization of an antimicrobial peptide produced by Pseudomonas sp strain 4B

An antimicrobial peptide produced by a bacterium isolated from the effluent pond of a bovine abattoir was purified and characterized. The strain was characterized by biochemical profiling and 16S rDNA sequencing as Pseudomonas sp. The antimicrobial peptide was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration, and ion exchange chromatography. Direct activity on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was observed. A major band on SDS-PAGE suggested that the antimicrobial peptide has a molecular mass of about 30 kDa. The substance was inhibitory to a broad range of indicator strains, including pathogenic and food spoilage bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus, among other. The partially purified antimicrobial substance remained active over a wide temperature range and was resistant to all proteases tested. This substance showed different properties than other antimicrobials from Pseudomonas species, suggesting a novel antimicrobial peptide was characterized.

Clinical relationships and ethical problems in primary care, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

Objectives: Main Objective: to identify ethical problems in primary care according to nurses` and doctors` perceptions. Secondary Objective: to know ethical issues of patient-professional relationships in primary care. Design: Synthesis to integrate and reinterpret primary results of qualitative studies. Setting: Primary healthcare centers, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. Participants and/or context: Incidental sample of 34 nurses and 36 medical doctors working in primary healthcare centers selected by convenience. Methods: Individual, semi-structured interviews to identity situations considered as sources of ethical problems. The sample is socially representative of primary care health centers and professionals. Data collection assured discourse saturation. Hermeneutic-dialectical discourse analysis was used to study the results. Results: Patient-professional relationships and team work were the main sources of ethical problems. The most important problems were patient information, privacy, confidentiality, interpersonal relationship, linkage and patient autonomy. These issues reflect the recent changes in clinical relation ships and show the peculiarities of primary care with its continuous care which lasts a long time. Healthcare involves multiprofessional team work in the midst of the patient claims for autonomy. Good care of patients needs requires a relationship based on communication and cooperation, and includes feelings and values, with communication skills. Conclusions: Ethical problems in primary care are common situations. For quality and humane primary care the relationship should consist of dialogue, trust and cooperation. (C) 2009 Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.

An integrated approach to produce biodiesel and monoglycerides by enzymatic interestification of babassu oil (Orbinya sp)

Two screenings of commercial lipases were performed to find a lipase with superior performance for the integrated production of biodiesel and monoglycerides. The first screening was carried out under alcoholysis conditions using ethanol as acyl acceptor to convert triglycerides to their corresponding ethyl esters (biodiesel). The second screening was performed under glycerolysis conditions to yield monoglycerides (MG). All lipases were immobilized on silica-PVA composite by covalent immobilization. The assays were performed using babassu oil and alcohols (ethanol or glycerol) in solvent free systems. For both substrates, lipase from Burkholderia cepacia (lipase PS) was found to be the most suitable enzyme to attain satisfactory yields. To further improve the process, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optima operating conditions for each biotransformation. For biodiesel production, the highest transesterification yield (>98%) was achieved within 48 h reaction at 39 degrees C using an oil-to-ethanol molar ratio of 1:7. For MG production, optima conditions corresponded to oil-to-glycerol molar ratio of 1: 15 at 55 degrees C, yielding 25 wt.% MG in 6 h reaction. These results show the potential of B. cepacia lipase to catalyze both reactions and the feasibility to consider an integrated approach for biodiesel and MG production. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multidimensional cluster stability analysis from a Brazilian Bradyrhizobium sp RFLP/PCR data set

The taxonomy of the N(2)-fixing bacteria belonging to the genus Bradyrhizobium is still poorly refined, mainly due to conflicting results obtained by the analysis of the phenotypic and genotypic properties. This paper presents an application of a method aiming at the identification of possible new clusters within a Brazilian collection of 119 Bradryrhizobium strains showing phenotypic characteristics of B. japonicum and B. elkanii. The stability was studied as a function of the number of restriction enzymes used in the RFLP-PCR analysis of three ribosomal regions with three restriction enzymes per region. The method proposed here uses Clustering algorithms with distances calculated by average-linkage clustering. Introducing perturbations using sub-sampling techniques makes the stability analysis. The method showed efficacy in the grouping of the species B. japonicum and B. elkanii. Furthermore, two new clusters were clearly defined, indicating possible new species, and sub-clusters within each detected cluster. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sorption aspects for unconsolidated materials of the Sao Carlos region (SP), Brazil

The transport of liquid and gaseous pollutants through porous geological media depends on the physical and chemical characteristics of the unconsolidated material, rocks and water associated with the characteristics of the pollutants. Of these characteristics, the sorption aspect is of fundamental importance and is a function of the mineral proportions, pH, Eh and void aspects encountered in the porous media. In the Sao Carlos region, located in the eastern-central part of the 9 ate of Sao Paulo, Brazil, there are basically two types of unconsolidated materials: the first is a residual from sandstones cemented with fines and the secondarily composed of claystones, siltstones and conglomerates from the Cretaceous Period that constitute the Itaqueri Formation; the second is a sandy sediment of the Tertiary Period. These geological conditions are found in areas where chemical products are disposed of characterized as either diffuse or point pollutions sources. Because of this situation, a study was developed to evaluate the sorption aspects of some inorganic cations that are frequently found in these sources, in varied concentrations. Taken into consideration were their physical/chemical properties, such as: specific weight, grain size, mineralogy, cationic exchange capacity, pH, hydraulic conductivity. Batch tests were run using solutions of KCl, ZnCl(2) and CuCl center dot H(2)O at three different pH values, and then with a combined solution (KCl + ZnCl(2) + CuCl center dot H(2)O), also at three different pH values.

Association between decay fungi and subterranean termites in the wood biodeterioration process of Tipuana tipu (Benth.) O. Kuntze trees of Sao Paulo city, SP

In the present paper the process of wood biodeterioration of tipuana trees planted in 7 regions of the city of Sao Paulo, SP was evaluated. On the sidewalks, 1109 trees were analyzed taking into consideration the occurrence and association of the xylophagous organisms (decay fungi and subterranean termites), the wood deterioration and the BHD (breast height diameter). The percentage of wood internal deterioration (%) was obtained by non destructive analysis, using a penetrometer. The results had shown that 75% of the tipuana trees presented BHD superior to 50 cm, characterizing them as adult. Decay fungi in the roots and/or trunk had been observed in 338 trees (30.5%). Subterranean termites of Heterotermes sp. and Coptotermes gestroi species had occurred in 307 trees (27.7%), the latter in high infestation level. The association between the fungi and termites was observed, as well as its relation with the BHD, where a greater value of BHD meant higher wood biodeterioration intensity. For tipuana trees, the BHD was considered an indicative attribute of the internal deterioration intensity, caused by these xylophagous organisms.

Secondary metabolites produced by Propionicimonas sp (ENT-18) induce histological abnormalities in the sclerotia of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a highly aggressive pathogen that causes great economic losses, especially in temperate climates. Several biological control agents are available, but actinobacteria have seldom been used to control this fungus. Our objective was to evaluate the efficiency and ultrastructural effects of the secondary metabolites produced by the ant-associated actinobacterium Propionicimonas sp. ENT-18 in controlling the sclerotia of S. sclerotiorum. We demonstrated total inhibition of sclerotia treated with 62.5 mu g/10 mu l of an ethyl acetate extract of compounds produced by ENT-18, and calculated an LC(50) of 1.69 mu g/sclerotia. Histological and ultrastructural analysis indicated that the cells of the treated sclerotia were severely damaged, suggesting direct action of the biomolecule(s) produced by the actinobacterium ENT-18 on the cell structure of the medullae and rind cell wall. This is the first report demonstrating a novel property of Propionicimonas sp.-antifungal activity against S. sclerotiorum.

Natural regeneration of Atlantic Forest species in the understory of Eucalyptus saligna Smith. in a former forest production unit at the Parque das Neblinas, Bertioga, SP

This study aimed at characterizing the potential for natural regeneration of native vegetation in the under-story of an earlier Eucalyptus saligna Smith production stand. The study was carried out at the Parque das Neblinas, Bertioga municipality, SP, in a 45 ha third rotation stand; which had been abandoned 15 years ago for natural regeneration to occur. The sampling was done in 24 plots of 20 x 40 m. The sampled area was of 19,200 m(2), with inventory made of 100% of the eucalyptus trees. All regeneration trees with a height >= 1.30 m and DBH >= 5.0 cm were measured, as well as adult individuals with DBH >= 5.0 cm; surveyed in two size classes. 1,417 individuals of E. saligna were measured, with a density of 738,02 individuals/ha and a basal area of 22.69 m(2)/ha. Among 2,763 natural regeneration individuals, 111 species belonged to 66 genera and 34 botanical families. The species represented 43.7% of the tree richness of neighboring native forest fragments. The total estimated density and the basal area were respectively 1,052.6 individuals/ha and 6.4 m(2)/ha of autochthonous trees with DBH >= 5.0 cm (Class 1); while for regeneration there were 3,864.58 individuals/ha, and 2.76 m(2)/ha of individuals with a height >= 1.30 m and DBH <5.0 cm (Class 2). Shannon diversity (H`) was 2.83 and 3.68, respectively, for Classes 1 and 2, and the corrected species richness for a 1000-individual sample (R(1000)) were 75.6 and 87.29 (Fisher`s a index) for the same classes. The majority of the species (34.84%) was typical from the understory of wet tropical forest and had zoochoric fruit dispersal (67.57%). The results indicate that, under these conditions, a eucalyptus forest is able to provide adequate regeneration niches for native vegetation, and may represent a sink habitat for local populations.

Composition of phenolic acids content in apple (Malus sp) pomace

The present work aimed the study of phenolic acids composition in apple pomace of Gala and Fuji cultivars. Phenolic acids were fractionated in phenolic acids, esterified and insoluble and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Sixteen phenolic acids were identified in apple pomace samples. Total phenolic acids in apple pomace from Gala and Fuji cultivars were, in dry weight, 93.94 mg/g and 68.38 mg/g, respectively. Content of free phenolic acids in apple pomace from Gala cultivar was 29.11 mg/g and the following acids were identified: salicylic, protocatequinic, quinic, p-coumaric, gallic, propylgallate and synapic. Content of free phenolic acids in apple pomace from Fuji cultivar was 16.03 mg/g and the following acids were identified: salicylic, protocatequinic, gallic, ferulic and sinapic. Salicylic was the predominant free phenolic acids found in both cultivars, consisting of 91.67% and 63.57% of the free phenolic acids in Gala and Fuji cultivars, respectively. Chlorogenic acid (1.147 mg/g) was found only in apple pomace from Fuji cultivar. Content of esterified phenolic acids in apple pomace from Gala and Fuji cultivars were 53.75 mg/g and 48.29 mg/g, respectively. It was verified that the predominant esterified phenolic acid in pomace from apple Gala is derived from salicylic acid (52.76 mg/g). Acids derived from gallic acid (0.175 mg/g), propylgallate acid (0.198 mg/g), ferulic acid (0.159 mg/g) and sinapic acid (0.140 mg/g) were also found in Gala cultivar. Regarding to pomace from cultivar Fuji, the main esterified phenolic acid found is also derived from salicylic acid (47.42 mg/g) followed by gallic acid (0.270 mg/g), benzoic acid (0.194 mg/g) and sinapic acid (0.115 mg/g). Content of insoluble phenolic acids in apple pomace from Gala and Fugi cultivars were, in dry weight, 11.08 mg/g and 4.05 mg/g, respectively Insoluble phenolic acids derived from salicylic acid were found in higher concentrations in apple pomace from both cultivars.

Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxin in the Billings Reservoir (Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil)

The Billings Complex and the Guarapiranga System are important strategic reservoirs for the city of Sao Paulo and surrounding areas because the water is used among other things, for the public water supply. They produce 19,000 liters of water per second and Supply water to 5.4 million people. Crude water is transferred from the Taquacetuba branch of the Billings Complex to the Guarapiranga Reservoir to regulate the water level of the reservoir. The objective of this study was to evaluate the water quality in the Taquacetuba branch, focusing on cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins. Surface water samples were collected in February (summer) and July (winter) of 2007. Analyses were conducted of physical, chemical, and biological variables of he water, cyanobacteria richness and density, and the presence of cyanotoxins. The water was classified as eutrophic-hypereutrophic. Cyanobacteria blooms were observed in both collection periods. The cyanobacteria bloom was most significant in July, reflecting lower water transparency and higher levels of total solids, suspended organic matter, chlorophyll-a, and cyanobacteria density in the surface water. Low richness and elevated dominance of the cyanobacteria were found in both periods. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was dominant in February, with 352 661.0 cel mL(-1), and Microcystis panniformis was dominant in July, with 1 866 725.0 cel mL(-1). Three variants of microcystin were found in February (MC-RR, MC-LR, MC-YR), as well as saxitoxin. The same variants of microcystin were found in July, but no saxitoxin was detected. Anatoxin-a and cylindropermopsin were not detected in either period. These findings are of great concern because the water in the Taquacetuba branch, which is transferred into the Guarapiranga Reservoir, is not treated nor managed. It is recommended that monitoring be intensified and more effective measures be taken by the responsible agencies to prevent the process of eutrophication and the consequent development of the cyanobacteria and their toxins.

LACTOBACILLUS ACIDOPHILUS AND BIFIDOBACTERIUM SP IN CO-CULTURE IMPROVE SENSORY ACCEPTANCE OF POTENTIALLY PROBIOTIC PETIT-SUISSE CHEESE

Sensory acceptance of four trials of probiotic petit-suisse cheese was investigated. Cheeses were prepared using Streptococcus thermophilus TA 040 as starter not supplemented with any probiotic culture (T1-control), Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 (T2), Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BL04 (T3) and L. acidophilus + B. animalis subsp. lactis (T4). Sensory acceptance tests were performed after 7 and 14 days of storage at 4 +/- 1 degrees C, using a 9-point hedonic scale to evaluate flavour, texture and overall acceptability. The population of La-5 and BL04 remained at 7.0 log CFU g(-1) and at 8.0 log CFU g(-1), respectively, during storage for up to 28 days. After 7 and 14 days of storage, cheese T4 presented the highest sensory acceptance for all attributes evaluated and differed significantly from the other cheeses (P<0.05). After 14 days of storage, cheese T3 presented the lowest acceptance and differed significantly from the other cheeses (P<0.05). The supplementation of petit-suisse cheese T4 with both La-5 and BL04 in co-culture with a starter culture resulted in a product with high probiotic populations during storage and excellent sensory acceptance. The results also showed that, when added separately, La-5 and BL04 did not affect the sensory acceptability of petit-suisse cheese.