Use of multicriteria decision aid methods in the context of sustainable innovations: bibliometrics,applications and trends

Environment Systems and Decisions - Sustainable innovation has gained prominence in recent years, due to the demands imposed by global competition, social pressures and the needs of consumers and...     

Innovative approach and design for environmental protection from arising threats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

“Return” and Extension Actions After Ethnobotanical Research: The Perceptions and Expectations of a Rural Community in Semi-arid Northeastern Brazil

The scientific community has debated the importance of “return” activities after ethnobiological studies. This issue has provoked debate because it touches on the ethics of research and the relationships with the people involved in these studies. This case study aimed to investigate community perception of an ethnobotany research project that was carried out in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. Furthermore, we reported how the residents of this rural community felt about participating in the activities of “return” that arose from the projects. Our findings demonstrate that “return” activities should be planned from the design phase of the research until its closure as a lifelong process that allows the communities involved to gradually take ownership of the information and actions that are being generated. Similarly, we argue that such activities must be negotiated with the people of the community so that they have decision-making power and autonomy to decide what is most relevant to their lives.     

Evaluation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains as probiotic agent with aflatoxin B(1) adsorption ability for use in poultry feedstuffs

In this study the aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) removal capacity, the tolerance to salivary and gastrointestinal conditions, autoaggregation and coaggregation with pathogenic bacteria of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from broiler feces, were evaluated. Only four of twelve isolated strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae using molecular techniques. The results obtained in AFB(1) binding studies indicated that the amount of AFB(1) removed was both strain and mycotoxin-concentration dependent. Therefore, a theoretical model was applied in order to select the most efficient strain to remove AFB(1) in a wide range of mycotoxin concentration. The results indicated that S. cerevisiae 08 and S. cerevisiae 01 strains were the most efficient microorganisms in the mycotoxin removal. Viability on simulated salivary and gastrointestinal conditions was investigated and S. cerevisiae 08 strain showed the best results, achieving 98% of total survival whereas S. cerevisiae 01 reached only 75%. Autoaggregation and coaggregation assays showed S. cerevisiae 08 as the most appropriate strain, mainly because it was the unique strain able to coaggregate with the four bacterial pathogens assayed. Consequently, S. cerevisiae 08 is the best candidate for future in vivo studies useful to prevent aflatoxicosis. Further quantitative in vitro and in vivo studies are required to evaluate the real impact of yeast-binding activity on the bioavailability of AFB(1) in poultry. However, this study could be useful in selecting efficient strains in terms of AFB(1) binding and provide an important contribution to research into microorganisms with potential probiotic effects on the host.     

Material and Symbolic Forces in the Evolution of Regulatory Institutions of Agrobiotechnology: A Case Study About Brazil

The wide and complex range of technologies produced and used in the contemporary societies has challenged the analysis from the different fields of social sciences. In this sense, in order to elaborate a study that aim at understanding the relationship between technological progress and the ongoing institutional changes that mark the capitalist societies, we believe it is necessary to adopt an interdisciplinary approach combining methodologies from Economics and Sociology fields. Therefore, this study proposes the development of an interdisciplinary dialogue between the economic sociology of Pierre Bourdieu and the evolutionary economics developed by authors such as Giovanni Dosi, Sidney Winter, Richard Nelson and Bhaven Sampat. In doing so, we intend to demonstrate that a theory guided by Marx’s historical materialism, as it is the case of evolutionary economics, can be enriched by a materialist theory of symbolic, such as that of Pierre Bourdieu. In searching the comprehension of the complementarity between material and symbolic forces, this study addresses the conflictual process surrounding the formulation of the regulatory institutions to the biotechnology sector in Brazil over the last two decades. More precisely, through a case study, we seek to demonstrate that the convergence of discourses and interests between prestigious scientific organizations and the multinational companies that control the agrobiotechnology industry has been relevant to allow this new technological paradigm to make progress. Finally, we raise some questions concerning this alliance between business and science and the conflicts that revolve around the rapid expansion of the genetically modified crops worldwide.     

Healing with animals in a semiarid northeastern area of Brazil

This study presents information on the use of medicinal animals in a semiarid area of northeast Brazil, a region where animals have recognized importance in local popular medicine. The information on the use of animals for medicinal purposes was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires, complemented by free interviews and informal conversations. The results obtained showed that the residents of the area studied utilize a considerable richness of animal species (n = 42) for medicinal purposes, as occurs in other areas of Brazil’s semiarid region, demonstrating that zootherapy represents an alternative form of health care that is important to the inhabitants of the region. There is a need for new investigations on medicinal fauna, aimed at promoting the sustainable use of eventual medicinal species and preserving popular knowledge associated with the use of animal species.     

Cork stoppers as an effective sorbent for water treatment: the removal of mercury at environmentally relevant concentrations and conditions

The technical feasibility of using stopper-derived cork as an effective biosorbent towards bivalent mercury at environmentally relevant concentrations and conditions was evaluated in this study. Only 25 mg/L of cork powder was able to achieve 94 % of mercury removal for an initial mercury concentration of 500 μg/L. It was found that under the conditions tested, the efficiency of mercury removal expressed as equilibrium removal percentage does not depend on the amount of cork or its particle size, but is very sensitive to initial metal concentration, with higher removal efficiencies at higher initial concentrations. Ion exchange was identified as one of the mechanisms involved in the sorption of Hg onto cork in the absence of ionic competition. Under ionic competition, stopper-derived cork showed to be extremely effective and selective for mercury in binary mixtures, while in complex matrices like seawater, moderate inhibition of the sorption process was observed, attributed to a change in mercury speciation. The loadings achieved are similar to the majority of literature values found for other biosorbents and for other metals, suggesting that cork stoppers can be recycled as an effective biosorbent for water treatment. However, the most interesting result is that equilibrium data show a very rare behaviour, with the isotherm presenting an almost square convex shape to the concentration axis, with an infinite slope for an Hg concentration in solution around 25 μg/L.     

Planktonic ciliates in a hypertrophic pond: functional role and importance

Taxonomical composition and abundance of the planktonic ciliate assemblage in a Lake Tezozomoc, a hypertrophic pond located into an urban park in Mexico City, was investigated along the rainy season (May to October). The aims of the study were to know the main trophic roles and ecological significance of ciliates in a highly productive environment. A low number of taxa (27) and a wide abundance fluctuation (104-387 cil ml(-1)) were found. The most abundant species (up to 162 cil ml(-1)) was Halteria grandinella, an oligotrich ciliate that graze on bacteria and picoplankton, but also several big body sized species that feed on pico and nanoplankton were abundant. Sudden temporal changes in species dominance occurred. Ciliate biomass was very high and fluctuated widely (1.6-88 10(6) microm(3) ml(-1)) being dominated by the >50 microm size fraction that mainly included the pico and nanoplankton feeders. Ciliates are a very important component in the plankton of hypertrophic lakes and their main control factor seems to be the grazing by big-body size Daphnia species.