A multidisciplinary study of archaeological grape seeds

We report here the first integrated investigation of both ancient DNA and proteins in archaeobotanical samples: medieval grape (Vitis vinifera L.) seeds, preserved by anoxic waterlogging, from an early medieval (seventh–eighth century A.D.) Byzantine rural settlement in the Salento area (Lecce, Italy) and a late (fourteenth–fifteenth century A.D.) medieval site in York (England). Pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry documented good carbohydrate preservation, whilst amino acid analysis revealed approximately 90% loss of the original protein content. In the York sample, mass spectrometry-based sequencing identified several degraded ancient peptides. Nuclear microsatellite locus (VVS2, VVMD5, VVMD7, ZAG62 and ZAG79) analysis permitted a tentative comparison of the genetic profiles of both the ancient samples with the modern varieties. The ability to recover microsatellite DNA has potential to improve biomolecular analysis on ancient grape seeds from archaeological contexts. Although the investigation of five microsatellite loci cannot assign the ancient samples to any geographic region or modern cultivar, the results allow speculation that the material from York was not grown locally, whilst the remains from Supersano could represent a trace of contacts with the eastern Mediterranean.     

Optimization of Methods for Detecting Hepatitis A Virus in Food

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is currently recognized as an important human food borne pathogen, and it is one of the most resistant enteric RNA viruses, is highly infectious, and may lead to widespread outbreaks. The aim of this study was to optimize the methods to detect HAV from artificially contaminated food. To this end, strawberry and lettuce were experimentally contaminated with HAV suspension containing 6 × 10⁶ copies/ml. After contamination, HAV persistence and washing procedure were evaluated at 0, 1, 3, 7, and 9 days of storage. Five elution buffers (PBS (pH 7.4)/0.1% Tween80; 50 mM glycine/3% (wt/vol) beef extract (pH 9.5); PBS (pH 7, 4); 25 mM glycine/0.1 Tween80; and 1 M sodium bicarbonate) were used to elute the virus, and qualitative and quantitative PCR were used for HAV detection. HAV was detected by qualitative and quantitative PCR using any of the five elution buffers, but PBS was the most effective. Even after washing, HAV was detected up to 9 days after contamination by quantitative PCR. Quantitative PCR was more sensitive than qualitative PCR since samples containing viral load lower than 1.4 × 10³ copies/ml could not be detected by qualitative PCR. Quantitative PCR can be used for rapid detection of food borne viruses and will help in the monitoring and control of food borne disease.     

The toxicological paradigms of aluminum and the etiology of Alzheimer's disease in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

This study examined behavioral and enzymatic changes of C. elegans from its exposure to aluminum, and the resulting relationship with Alzheimer's disease. After chronic and acute exposure to aluminum, the results indicated that it alters the cholinergic status and behavior parameters of the nematode, suggesting a relationship between exposure to aluminum and the etiology of AD.     

Sustainability and education for sustainability: An analysis of publications from the last decade

This study analyzes the characteristics of publications on sustainability topics and education for sustainability in the Web of Science (WOS) database during the period ranging from 2005 to 2014. We identified the topics that are being studied within those subjects and other relevant topics. We also analyzed a special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production on “Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Emerging areas,” published in January, 2014. Our approach was both qualitative and quantitative and aimed at qualifying and quantifying certain variables related to the scientific literature on the broad subject of sustainability. The number of published pieces in the WOS focusing on sustainability issues during the period from 2005 to 2014 was 5,924. In our analysis of the special edition of the Journal of Cleaner Production, we found and analyzed 17 abstracts and full papers. The main results of our survey highlight the education, educational research, environmental sciences, ecology, and engineering areas as including the greatest number of publications. Articles, as opposed to conference proceedings or reviews, accounted for 63% of the published documents, and the year 2013 showed the largest number of publications. Huisingh, Suciu, Katane, and Barth are the most published authors on these topics. Furthermore, management, environmental studies, ecology, and environmental sciences are the “hot topics” with the best search results, meaning articles of impact and high quality. Finally, it should be emphasized that publications on the subject of sustainability appear most often in the sciences.     

Soil moisture determines the effectiveness of two urease inhibitors to decrease N<Subscript>2</Subscript>O emission

Among the mitigation strategies to prevent nitrogen (N) losses from ureic fertilizers, urease inhibitors (UIs) have been demonstrated to promote high N use efficiency by reducing ammonia (NH₃) volatilization. In the last few years, some field experiments have also shown its effectiveness in reducing nitrous oxide (N₂O) losses from fertilized soils under conditions of low soil moisture. An incubation experiment was carried out with the aim of assessing the main biotic mechanisms behind N₂O emissions once that the UIs N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamid (NBPT) and phenil phosphorodiamidate (PPDA) were applied with Urea (U) under different soil moisture conditions (40, 60 and 80 % water-filled pore space, WFPS). In the same study we tried to analyze to what extent soil WFPS regulates the effect of these inhibitors on N₂O emissions. The use of PPDA in our study allowed us to compare the effect of NBPT with that of another commercially available urease inhibitor, aiming to see if the results were inhibitor-specific or not. Based on the results from this experiment, a WFPS (i.e. 60 %) was chosen for a second study (i.e. mesocosm experiment) aiming to assess the efficiency of the UIs to indirectly affect N₂O emissions through influencing the pool of soil mineral N. The N₂O emissions at 40 % WFPS were almost negligible, being significantly lower from all fertilized treatments than that produced at 60 and 80 % WFPS. When compared to U alone, NBPT+U reduced the N₂O emissions at 60 % WFPS but had no effect at 80 % WFPS. The application of PPDA significantly increased the emissions with respect to U at 80 % WFPS whereas no significant effect was found at 60 %. At 80 % WFPS, denitrification was the main source of N₂O emissions for all treatments. In the mesocosm study, the application of NBPT+U was an effective strategy to reduce N₂O emissions (75 % reduction compared to U alone), due to a lower soil ammonium (NH₄ ⁺) content induced by the inhibitor. These results suggest that adequate management of the UI NBPT could provide, under certain soil conditions, an opportunity for mitigation of N₂O emissions from fertilized soils.     

Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic rainforest

Given the speed at which humans are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism may not have time to avoid extinction through adaptation. We investigated through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigated through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as flying rivers carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot.     

Application of lead isotopic methods to the study of the anthropogenic lead provenance in Spanish overbank floodplain deposits

Changes in the principal sources of Pb in overbank sediment profiles have been documented for two Spanish areas by using Pb isotopes and Pb concentrations. These locations (Madrid and Tinto–Odiel basin) represent two of the most contaminated regions in Spain. The Community of Madrid is characterized by heavy industrial and urban activity, focused mainly in Madrid City. The Tinto–Odiel basin drains the Iberian Pyrite Belt, which hosts many polymetallic massive sulphides and is heavily affected by mining activities in their headwaters. It has been proven that the influence of anthropogenic activity is reflected in these overbank deposits by variations in Pb concentrations that, in general, correlate with shifts in the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratio. Rivas profile (downstream of Madrid) was found to be the most anthropogenically influenced site. The sediments within this profile which were recently deposited (170 ± 40 years BP) have the least radiogenic signatures. ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios ranged between 1.1763 and 1.1876 indicating significant contributions of anthropogenic Pb. In contrast, profiles upstream of Madrid possess an average ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratio of 1.2272. It is difficult to clearly identify the most prominent source as the sediments appear to be characterized by an input from several sources. The floodplain profiles in the Tinto–Odiel basin exhibit uniform ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios ranging from 1.1627 (Odiel river) to 1.1665 (Tinto river). These ratios are similar to the ones possessed by sulphide ores in the area and differ from the ratios of other nonmineralized formations in the basin, indicating that mining activities are the primary, if not sole, source of Pb to the sediments.     

Sustainable development in the BRICS countries: an efficiency analysis by data envelopment

There is much concern about the social and environmental impacts caused by the economic growth of nations. Thus, to evaluate the socio-economic performance of nations, economists have increasingly addressed matters related to social welfare and the environment. It is within the scope of this context that this work discusses the performance of countries in the BRICS group regarding sustainable development. The objective of this study regards evaluating the efficiency of these countries in transforming productive resources and technological innovation into sustainable development. The proposed objective was achieved by using econometric tools as well as the data envelopment analysis method to then create economic, environmental, and social efficiency rankings for the BRICS countries, which enabled to carry out comparative analyses on the sustainable development of those countries. The results of such assessments can be of interest for more specific scientific explorations.