Genotoxic and melanic alterations in Lithobates catesbeianus (anura) tadpoles exposed to fipronil insecticide

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and morphological systemic effects of both an acute and a chronic exposure of bullfrog tadpoles to...     

Eco-industrial park development in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: a tool for sustainable development

The development of eco-industrial parks (EIPs) is an emerging concept that is being spread worldwide as a new industrial model that can reconcile the three dimensions of sustainability: social, economic and environmental. In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, EIPs were launched through formal legislation as a means to foster sustainable development and to ameliorate the distress caused by unplanned urban and industrial development. The objective of this study is to present and analyze the development of EIPs in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on two of the initiatives launched. We argue that Rio de Janeiro has the potential for developing a sustainable industrial system through EIP implementation, but the continuity of EIPs will only be successful if there is convergence of interests among the actors involved.     

Comprehensive prenatal diagnostics: Exome versus genome sequencing

Objective

This study aimed to assess the diagnostic yield of prenatal genetic testing using trio whole exome sequencing (WES) and trio whole genome sequencing (WGS) in pregnancies with fetal anomalies by comparing the results with conventional chromosomal microarray (CMA) analysis.

Methods

A total of 40 pregnancies with fetal anomalies or increased nuchal translucency (NT ≥ 5 mm) were included between the 12th and 21st week of gestation. Trio WES/WGS and CMA were performed in all cases.

Results

The trio WES/WGS analysis increased the diagnostic yield by 25% in cases with negative CMA results. Furthermore, all six chromosomal aberrations identified by CMA were independently detected by WES/WGS analysis. In total, 16 out of 40 cases obtained a genetic sequence variant, copy number variant, or aneuploidy explaining the phenotype, resulting in an overall WES/WGS diagnostic yield of 40%. WES analysis provided a more reliable identification of mosaic sequence variants than WGS because of its higher sequencing depth.

Conclusions

Prenatal WES/WGS proved to be powerful diagnostic tools for fetal anomalies, surpassing the diagnostic yield of CMA. They have the potential to serve as standalone methods for prenatal diagnosis. The study highlighted the limitations of WGS in accurately detecting mosaic variants, which is particularly relevant when analyzing chorionic villus samples.     

Echocardiographic diagnosis of fetal marfan syndrome at 34 weeks' gestation

Fetal echocardiography was performed during the third trimester in a normal primigravida. The fetal heart was severely affected with the typical cardiac manifestations of Marfan syndrome. The medical history of the father was investigated and a mild form of the syndrome was diagnosed. The neonate died at 2 months of age of congestive heart failure.     

Identifying climate change refugia for South American biodiversity

Refugia-based conservation offers long-term effectiveness and minimize uncertainty on strategies for climate change adaptation. We used distribution modelling to identify climate change refugia for 617 terrestrial mammals and to quantify the role of protected areas (PAs) in providing refugia across South America. To do so, we compared species potential distribution across different scenarios of climate change, highlighting those regions likely to retain suitable climatic conditions by year 2090, and explored the proportion of refugia inside PAs. Moist tropical forests in high-elevation areas with complex topography concentrated the highest local diversity of species refugia, although regionally important refugia centers occurred elsewhere. Andean–Amazon forests contained climate change refugia for more than half of the continental species’ pool and for up to 87 species locally (17 × 17 km² grid cell). The highlands of the southern Atlantic Forest also included megadiverse refugia for up to 76 species per cell. Almost half of the species that may find refugia in the Atlantic Forest will do so in a single region—the Serra do Mar and Serra do Espinhaço. Most of the refugia we identified, however, were not in PAs, which may contain <6% of the total area of climate change refugia, leaving 129–237 species with no refugia inside the territorial limits of PAs of any kind. Our results reveal a dismal scenario for the level of refugia protection in some of the most biodiverse regions of the world. Nonetheless, because refugia tend to be in high-elevation, topographically complex, and remote areas, with lower anthropogenic pressure, formally protecting them may require a comparatively modest investment.     

Seasonal water stress tolerance and habitat associations within four neotropical tree genera

We investigated the relationship between habitat association and physiological performance in four congeneric species pairs exhibiting contrasting distributions between seasonally flooded and terra firme habitats in lowland tropical rain forests of French Guiana, including Virola and Iryanthera (Myristicaceae), Symphonia (Clusiaceae), and Eperua (Caesalpiniaceae). We analyzed 10-year data sets of mapped and measured saplings (stems >150 cm in height and <10 cm diameter at breast height [dbh]) and trees (stems > or =10 cm dbh) across 37.5 ha of permanent plots covering a 300-ha zone, within which seasonally flooded areas (where the water table never descends below 1 m) have been mapped. Additionally, we tested the response of growth, survival, and leaf functional traits of these species to drought and flood stress in a controlled experiment. We tested for habitat preference using a modification of the torus translation method. Strong contrasting associations of the species pairs of Iryanthera, Virola, and Symphonia were observed at the sapling stage, and these associations strengthened for the tree stage. Neither species of Eperua was significantly associated with flooded habitats at the sapling stage, but E. falcata was significantly and positively associated with flooded forests at the tree stage, and trees of E. grandiflora were found almost exclusively in nonflooded habitats. Differential performance provided limited explanatory support for the observed habitat associations, with only congeners of Iryanthera exhibiting divergent sapling survival and tree growth. Seedlings of species associated with flooded forest tended to have higher photosynthetic capacity than their congeners at field capacity. In addition, they tended to have the largest reductions in leaf gas exchange and growth rate in response to experimental drought stress and the least reductions in response to experimental inundation. The corroboration of habitat association with differences in functional traits and, to a lesser extent, measures of performance provides an explanation for the regional coexistence of these species pairs. We suggest that specialization to seasonally flooded habitats may explain patterns of adaptive radiation in many tropical tree genera and thereby provide a substantial contribution to regional tree diversity.     

Cultivable microbiome and its resistance to antimicrobials isolated from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zaprionus indianus</Emphasis>

The objective of this study was to identify Z. indianus in PEJC and PESCAN. Listed are the following methods: to isolate bacteria from the integument of the Z. indianus species collected and to check the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics. Collections of Z. indianus were performed in four seasons of the two parks. The results obtained suggest that the low amount of Z. indianus collected can be justified by environmental factors such as high average temperature and low average humidity. It is noted that there is a predominance of bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae family found in both the PEJC and the PESCAN. The antibiogram performed for the isolated PEJC bacteria shows statistical significance when comparing the edge and inside values of the park. Studies with fungi were also carried out, and it was evidenced that Trichophyton spp. was the genus that most inhabited the two environments studied. The ability of fluconazole and ketoconazole to inhibit fungal growth was also investigated, and considering the concentration tested may suggest that they have good action spectra. Plasmid profile data show that 60% of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have plasmids. The values found show that Z. indianus can act as vectors of microorganisms that affect the healthy animals and humans and that these organisms may be influenced by seasons.     

Only carapace or the entire cephalothorax: which is best to obtain chitosan from shrimp fishery waste?

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The polysaccharide chitin (CHIT), extracted mainly from exoskeletons of crustaceans, can be obtained from shrimp fishery waste. It is the source of...     

Habitat differences affect the nuclear morphology of the erythrocytes and the hepatic melanin in Leptodactylus fuscus (Anura) in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The sensitivity of anuran to the effects of habitat destruction and contamination has led to a preoccupying global decline in their populations....     

High-Efficiency Production of Bioplastics from Biodegradable Organic Solids

Microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have been extensively studied as environmentally friendly biodegradable thermoplastics. The major obstacle to wide acceptance of PHAs is their high price, mainly attributed to the costs of raw materials and polymer recovery. A large amount of organic solids are discarded from food production and consumption and may be used as carbonaceous raw materials for production of PHAs. A novel technology was investigated at bench-top scale to produce PHAs from food scraps. The harvested cell mass had a high PHA content (72.6% of dry cell mass), the same as obtained from pure glucose and organic acids. The organic solid was first digested in an acidogenic reactor in which about 60% solid was converted to fermentative products, including short-chain fatty acids. The four major acids were acetic, propionic, butyric, and lactic acids at concentrations of 6, 2, 27, and 33 g/L, respectively. The acids were transported through a membrane barrier via molecular diffusion to an airlift bioreactor, where the acids were utilized by an enriched culture of Ralstonia eutropha for PHA synthesis. Purification of fermentative acids was not performed in this molecular diffusion–based integration of acidogenesis and polymerization. By using a dialysis membrane as the barrier, the dry cell mass concentration and PHA content reached 22.7 g/L and 72.6%, respectively. The PHA was a copolymer of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) with 2.8 mole % of hydroxyvalerate.