Structure and activity of thermophilic methanogenic microbial communities exposed to quaternary ammonium sanitizer

Food processing facilities often use antimicrobial quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) sanitizers to maintain cleanliness. These QACs can end up in wastewaters used as feedstock for anaerobic digestion. The aim of this study was to measure the effect of QAC contamination on biogas production and structure of microbial communities in thermophilic digester sludge. Methane production and biogas quality data were analyzed in batch anaerobic digesters containing QAC at 0, 15, 50, 100 and 150 mg/L. Increasing sanitizer concentration in the bioreactors negatively impacted methane production rate and biogas quality. Microbial community composition data was obtained through 16S rRNA gene sequencing from the QAC-contaminated sludges. Sequencing data showed no significant restructuring of the bacterial communities. However, significant restructuring was observed within the archaeal communities as QAC concentration increased. Further studies to confirm these effects on a larger scale and with a longer retention time are necessary.     

Condition-specific competition in container mosquitoes: the role of noncompeting life-history stages

Condition-specific competition, wherein competitive superiority varies with the abiotic environment, can determine species' distributions in a spatially heterogeneous environment. We investigated this phenomenon with two competing container-dwelling mosquitoes. We tested the hypothesis that habitat drying alters the outcome of interspecific competition, predicting that the competitive impact of Aedes albopictus on Aedes aegypti would be severe in wetter environments, but greatly reduced in drier environments. We tested these predictions in a laboratory experiment within cages, with aquatic larvae residing in water-filled cups within the cage, and adults emerging within the cage and ovipositing on the cups. We raised each species alone or with the competitor. Environmental treatments were fluctuating (water in cups evaporated to 50% of the original volume and then cups were refilled), and drying (water in cups evaporated completely and cups remained dry for two weeks before refilling). There was a significant interaction between treatment and species combination for adult populations of both species. Interspecific competition was highly asymmetrical. In the wetter fluctuating environment, interspecific competition had a large negative effect on A. aegypti, but in the drying environment, interspecific competition had a large negative effect on A. albopictus, and relatively little impact on A. aegypti. The main cause of the shift in competitive advantage appeared to be a greater increase in egg mortality for A. albopictus under dry conditions, compared to A. aegypti. Thus, mortality impinging on noncompeting life cycle stages can alter the population level impact of interspecific competition. The hypothesis that dry conditions shift competitive advantage away from A. albopictus is supported in this experiment.     

The determinants mostly disclosed by companies that are members of the Carbon Disclosure Project

Concerns about climate change as a result of anthropic actions have led to an increase in the volume of information disclosed about it in the reports of companies that are members of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). In this context, the factors most disclosed remain obscure due to both the complexity of climate change impacts and the stakeholders’ different interests. This study aims to identify which factors are most disclosed in the reports of companies that are members of CDP. For this purpose, it is necessary to investigate if the factors indicated by managers and experts are the main ones disclosed in the reports of Brazilian companies that are members of CDP, as well as to identify which companies stand out in climate change disclosure based on these factors. To this end, 463 reports submitted by 48 companies between 2014 and 2016 were examined and 32 factors were investigated using the NVivo® software. Some companies submitted reports with unified titles, which reduced the sample. The results indicate that certain factors—prevention of pollution, prevention of loss, management of environmental assets, volume of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and climate change strategy—account for 50.03% of the total volume of information disclosed about climate change. The main lesson learned from this research is that climate change mitigation strategy is strongly supported by the evidence of corporate annual reports, and it has relation with the following determinant factors: pollution prevention, loss prevention, environmental asset management, GHG emissions, and the strategy chosen by the companies to deal with climate change. Due to the low volume of research related to loss prevention and pollution prevention, we have identified that little attention has been paid to these items. Based on our results, we recommend that climate change mitigation strategies begin to consider these determinant factors in their structure because both have a strong influence in demonstrating how companies are managing these factors for stakeholders. Therefore, companies can benefit from this data to manage their resources for the maintenance of the social contract (legitimacy) through the factors most disclosed, especially companies with lower scores on the scale of ranking presented. Hence, stakeholders can have access to more information on strategies that mitigate climate change and help companies improve the disclosure of the actions that contribute to reduction of GHG emissions.     

Hepatitis A Virus,Hepatitis E Virus,and Rotavirus in Foods of Animal Origin Traded at the Borders of Brazil,Argentina, and Uruguay

The aim of this study was to investigate hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis E (HEV), and rotavirus (RV) in fresh and processed meat traded on the border of Brazil with Argentina and Uruguay. In total, 159 samples of raw and processed foods of animal origin were collected in Paso de los Libres, Argentina (n?=?53 raw meat, n?=?24 processed meat) and Rivera, Uruguay (n?=?55 raw meat, n?=?18 processed meat), or were seized by the Brazilian International Agricultural Surveillance System—VIGIAGRO (Brazil–Argentina border) (n?=?8 raw meat, n?=?1 bush meat). All samples were tested for the presence of HAV, HEV, and RV genomes. HAV genes were detected in 18.23% of samples and RV genes in 23.89%. No HEV-positive samples were detected. HAV was also detected in two of the VIGIAGRO samples. Processed meats from Argentina and Uruguay had a higher rate of HAV and RV than raw meat (P?>?0.05). The median HAV in the Argentinian and Uruguayan samples was 6.9?×?10⁴ and 3.5?×?10³ copies/g, respectively. The presence of RV viral genes in raw meats from Argentina was significant, and this was not observed in processed meats. The presence of HAV and RV genes in a significant portion of products from Argentina and Uruguay is a potential source of human infection. This also indicates precarious conditions of acquisition, processing, and manipulation, which could be improved by improved regulation of food across borders.     

Climate change impact on the potential yield of Arabica coffee in southeast Brazil

Regional Environmental Change - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections of global mean temperature rises are worrisome for coffee crop due to the intolerance of the Arabica...     

The water footprint of food waste: case study of fresh mango in Australia

In many parts of the world, freshwater is already a scarce and overexploited natural resource, raising concerns about global food security and damage to freshwater ecosystems. This situation is expected to intensify with the FAO estimating that world food production must double by 2050. Food chains must therefore become much more efficient in terms of consumptive water use. For the small and geographically well-defined Australian mango industry, having an average annual production of 44,692 t of marketable fresh fruit, the average virtual water content (sum of green, blue and gray water) at orchard gate was 2298 l kg^?1. However, due to wastage in the distribution and consumption stages of the product life cycle, the average virtual water content of 1 kg of Australian-grown fresh mango consumed by an Australian household was 5218 l. This latter figure compares to an Australian-equivalent water footprint of 217 l kg^?1, which is the volume of direct water use in Australia having an equivalent potential to contribute to water scarcity. Nationally, distribution and consumption waste in the food chain of Australian-grown fresh mango to Australian households represented an annual waste of 26.7 Gl of green water and 16.6 Gl of blue water. These findings suggest that interventions to reduce food chain waste will likely have as great or even greater impact on freshwater resource availability as other water use efficiency measures in agriculture and food production.     

Bioaccumulation Dynamic by Crassostrea gigas Oysters of Viruses That Are Proposed as Surrogates for Enteric Virus Contamination in Environmental Samples

Food and Environmental Virology - Oysters are filter-feeders and retain sewage-derived pathogens in their organs or tissues. Since most enteric viruses involved in outbreaks cannot grow in cell...     

Population dynamics of Digitaria spp submitted to selection pressure by herbicides in sugarcane crop

The objective of this research was to study population dynamics of the weed crabgrass, genus Digitaria, submitted to selection pressure by herbicides currently applied in sugarcane crops in Brazil. In the first experiment two crabgrass species (Digitaria nuda and Digitaria ciliaris) and eight herbicide treatments applied in preemergence were used, and control percentage was evaluated at 7, 14, and 21 days after herbicide application (DAA). In the second experiment the level of tolerance through dose-response curve was determined for the species D. nuda and D. ciliaris, to the herbicides imazapyr, tebuthiuron, ametryne, and metribuzin. All the herbicides studied were efficient in controlling D. ciliaris, however, for D. nuda the best results were obtained only with ametryne, metribuzin, and isoxaflutole. The relation (T/S) between the rate required to reduce plant dry biomass (GR50) at 21 DAA of D. nuda and D. ciliaris was 16 for imazapyr and 6.3 for tebuthiuron, showing differential susceptibility of species; however for ametryne the rate T/S of 1.1 showed that D. nuda was not tolerant to this herbicide. For metribuzin, at 1.92 kg a.i. ha(-1), reduction of dry biomass was 80 and 90% to D. nuda and D. ciliaris, respectively. Even being controlled by metribuzin, D. nuda presented a higher level of tolerance to this herbicide, what was confirmed by the relationship T/S 14.4. As general conclusion of the research, it can be stated that the species D. nuda is more tolerant to ALS inhibiting herbicides and substituted urea, when compared with D. ciliaris; probably, D. nuda was selected by repetitive use of these herbicides.     

A multi-parametric study of the interaction between the Parati river and Babitonga Bay in terms of water quality

Abstract

The Parati River contributes to the Babitonga Bay water complex, but the contents of the bay also influence the river during periods of inverted currents. In this study, the water quality along four stretches of the Parati River and Babitonga Bay was evaluated using chemical (physico-chemical and chromatographic analysis), microbiological (fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis) and ecotoxicological (Lumistox) methods to assess the reciprocal influence of the waters of this river-bay system. In addition, the most appropriate type of analysis for the monitoring of the estuarine region of the Parati River was identified. The results of six sampling campaigns showed that the type of contaminants and their levels varied temporally and spatially and thus the water quality also changed. Anthropogenic activity, such as banana cultivation and the release of sewage into the water system, is the primary cause of the contamination that affects the quality of the water in the Parati River estuary, which is a crucial ecological niche for the reproduction of various marine species. The ecotoxicity tests with Aliivibrio fischeri conducted to evaluate the water quality showed an integrative response, and the ecotoxicity data indicated that the Parati River does not have a significant influence on the water quality of Babitonga Bay.