Synthetic Aurones: New Features for Schistosoma mansoni Therapy

In this work, two synthetic aurones revealed moderate schistosomicidal potential in in vitro and in vivo assays. Aurones ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) promoted changes in tegument integrity and motor activity, leading to death of adult Schistosoma mansoni worms in in vitro assays. When administered orally (two doses of 50 mg/kg) in experimentally infected animals, synthetic aurones ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) promoted reductions of 56.20 % and 57.61 % of the parasite load and stimulated the displacement towards the liver of the remaining adult worms. The oogram analysis revealed that the treatment with both aurones interferes with the egg development kinetics in the intestinal tissue. Seeking an action target for compounds ( 1 ) and ( 2 ), the connection with NTPDases enzymes, recognized as important therapeutic targets for S. mansoni, was evaluated. Molecular docking studies have shown promising results. The dataset reveals the anthelmintic character of these compounds, which can be used in the development of new therapies for schistosomiasis.     

Toxicity of rhizomes of the invasive Hedychium coronarium (Zingiberaceae) on aquatic species

The production and release of chemical compounds by invasive plants can affect competitors and native species overall, destabilizing ecological interactions and harming ecosystem functioning. Hedychium coronarium is an invasive macrophyte common on Brazilian riparian areas that produces a wide variety of allelochemicals, but little is known about their effect on aquatic species. Here, we identified the major chemical compounds of the aqueous extract of H. coronarium rhizomes and assessed its toxicity, evaluating the growth inhibition of one alga (Raphidocelis subcapitata) and one macrophyte (Lemna minor), and the lethality of cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia silvestrii and Daphnia similis) and Chironomidae larvae (Chironomus sancticaroli). The majoritarian compounds of H. coronarium rhizomes were Coronarin D and Coronarin D Ethyl Ether. The aqueous extract was toxic for all tested species. We observed growth inhibition in R. subcapitata, as well as reduction in biomass in L. minor. Chironomus sancticaroli and cladoceran were the most sensible species. The aqueous extract of H. coronarium rhizomes was toxic on tested conditions, suggesting that the rhizome compounds may interfere on aquatic organisms and in the dynamic of trophic webs of aquatic ecosystems on invaded areas.

     

Carvedilol inhibition of lipid peroxidation. A new antioxidative mechanism

To define the molecular mechanism(s) of carvedilol inhibition of lipid peroxidation we have utilized model systems that allow us to study the different reactions involved in this complex process.

Carvedilol inhibits the peroxidation of sonicated phosphatidylcholine liposomes triggered by FeCl₂ addition whereas atenolol, pindolol and labetalol are ineffective. The inhibition proved not to be ascribable (a) to an effect on Fe²⁺ autoxidation and thus on the generation of oxygen derived radical initiators; (b) to the scavenging of the inorganic initiators O^·-₂ and ^·OH; (c) to an effect on the reductive cleavage of organic hydroperoxides by FeCl₂; (d) to the scavenging of organic initiators. The observations that (a) carvedilol effectiveness is inversely proportional to the concentration of FeCl₂ and lipid hydroperoxides in the assay; (b) the drug prevents the onset of lipid peroxidation stimulated by FeCl₃ addition and; (c) it can form a complex with Fe³⁺, suggest a molecular mechanism for carvedilol action. It may inhibit lipid peroxidation by binding the Fe³⁺ generated during the oxidation of Fe²⁺ by lipid hydroperoxides in the substrate. The lag time that carvedilol introduces in the peroxidative process would correspond to the time taken for carvedilol to be titrated by Fe³⁺; when the drug is consumed the Fe³⁺ accumulates to reach the critical parameter that stimulates peroxidation. According to this molecular mechanism the antioxidant potency of carvedilol can be ascribed to its ability to bind a species, Fe³⁺, that is a catalyst of the process and to its lipophilic nature that concentrates it in the membranes where Fe³⁺ is generated by a site specific mechanism.     

Invasion patterns in riparian habitats: The role of anthropogenic pressure in temperate streams

The riparian flora and the level of invasion in the rivers of the Cantabric watershed in Spain were studied in relation to the ecological status and the anthropogenic pressure. The level of invasion was also analyzed in different riparian habitats: forests, river bars and man-made slopes. For this purpose, 18 sites were sampled and a list of native and alien plant species was made along a 100-m strip at each site. The habitat/s where alien species were found and their abundance per habitat and in the total area were also indicated. Out of 112 alien taxa found, 51 were classified as invasive. Exotic plants native to America were the most common (35%). The level of invasion was significantly higher in the sampling sites subject to high levels of hydrological and morphological disturbances, proxies of the anthropogenic pressure. River bars and man-made slopes supported similar number of alien plant species, higher than forests. We suggest that disturbance in river banks should be minimized as much as possible in order to diminish the risk of invasion.     

Post-treatment of fish canning effluents by sequential nitrification and autotrophic denitrification processes

In this research study a nitrifying/autotrophic denitrifying system was used for the post-treatment of an effluent coming from an anaerobic digester treating the wastewater produced in a fish canning industry. The nitrifying reactor achieved 100% of ammonia oxidation into nitrate. The effluent from this unit was fed to the autotrophic denitrifying reactor which treated a maximum sulphide loading rate (SLR) of 200 mg S^2?/L d with removal percentages of 100% and 30% for sulphide and nitrate, respectively. The low nitrate removal efficiency is attributed to sulphide limitations.The operational costs of this system were estimated as 0.92 €/kg N_removed, lower than those for conventional nitrification/denitrification processes. For nitrogen removal the SHARON/anammox processes is the cheapest option. However the combination of nitrification and autotrophic denitrification (using elemental sulphur) processes would present a better operational stability compared to the SHARON/anammox system.     

Operation of an aerobic granular pilot scale SBR plant to treat swine slurry

A pilot-scale Sequencing Batch Reactor was operated during 307 days in order to treat swine slurry characterized by its high variable composition: organic and nitrogen applied loading rates and C/N ratio were 1.4–6.3 kg COD_s/(m³ d), 0.5–2.5 kg N/(m³ d) and 1.9–9.4 g COD_s/(g N), respectively. Aerobic granules successfully developed in the reactor and their physical properties remained rather stable despite the feeding composition variability. Organic and ammonia removal efficiency reached 61–73% and 56–77%, respectively, however ammonia was mainly oxidized to nitrite. The reactor had a good biomass retention capacity to select for granular biomass. However, its efficiency to retain the solids present in the feeding was low. Aerobic granulation in SBR systems appears as an interesting alternative to treat slurry in small livestock facilities where the implementation of anaerobic digestion systems is not a feasible option or the removal of nitrogenous compounds is required.     

Karyotypic conservatism in five species of Prochilodus (Characiformes,Prochilodontidae) disclosed by cytogenetic markers

The family Prochilodontidae is considered a group with well conserved chromosomes characterized by their number, morphology and banding patterns. Thence, our study aimed at accomplishing a cytogenetic analysis with conventional methods (Giemsa staining, silver staining of the nucleolus organizer regions-AgNOR, and C-banding) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with 18S and 5S ribosomal DNA probes in five species of the Prochilodus genus (Prochilodus argenteus, Prochilodus brevis, Prochilodus costatus, Prochilodus lineatus and Prochilodus nigricans) collected from different Brazilian hydrographic basins. The results revealed conservatism in chromosome number, morphology, AgNORs 18S and 5S rDNAs location and constitutive heterochromatin distribution patterns. The minor differences observed in this work, such as an Ag-NOR on a P. argenteus chromosome and a distinct C-banding pattern in P. lineatus, are not sufficient to question the conservatism described for this group. Future work using repetitive DNA sequences as probes for FISH will be interesting to further test the cytogenetic conservatism in Prochilodus.     

Genetic divergence between Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera,Apidae) populations

Melipona quadrifasciata is a stingless bee widely found throughout the Brazilian territory, with two recognized subspecies, M. quadrifasciata anthidioides, that exhibits interrupted metasomal stripes, and M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, with continuous metasomal stripes. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variability of these subspecies. For this purpose, 127 colonies from 15 Brazilian localities were analyzed, using nine species-specific microsatellite primers. At these loci, the number of alleles ranged from three to 15 (mean: 7.2), and the observed heterozygosity (H_o) ranged from 0.03–0.21, while the expected heterozygosity (H_e) ranged from 0.23–0.47. The genetic distances among populations ranged from 0.03–0.45. The F_ST multilocus value (0.23) indicated that the populations sampled were structured, and the clustering analysis showed the formation of two subgroups and two more distant populations. The first group contained the subspecies M. quadrifasciata quadrifasciata, and the other, the subspecies M. quadrifasciata anthidioides and the two M. quadrifasciata populations with continuous metasomal stripes from northern Minas Gerais. These results confirmed that the yellow metasomal stripes alone are not a good means for correctly identifying the different subspecies of M. quadrifasciata.     

Mantel test in population genetics

The comparison of genetic divergence or genetic distances, estimated by pairwise F_ST and related statistics, with geographical distances by Mantel test is one of the most popular approaches to evaluate spatial processes driving population structure. There have been, however, recent criticisms and discussions on the statistical performance of the Mantel test. Simultaneously, alternative frameworks for data analyses are being proposed. Here, we review the Mantel test and its variations, including Mantel correlograms and partial correlations and regressions. For illustrative purposes, we studied spatial genetic divergence among 25 populations of Dipteryx alata (“Baru”), a tree species endemic to the Cerrado, the Brazilian savannas, based on 8 microsatellite loci. We also applied alternative methods to analyze spatial patterns in this dataset, especially a multivariate generalization of Spatial Eigenfunction Analysis based on redundancy analysis. The different approaches resulted in similar estimates of the magnitude of spatial structure in the genetic data. Furthermore, the results were expected based on previous knowledge of the ecological and evolutionary processes underlying genetic variation in this species. Our review shows that a careful application and interpretation of Mantel tests, especially Mantel correlograms, can overcome some potential statistical problems and provide a simple and useful tool for multivariate analysis of spatial patterns of genetic divergence.