Presence of Torque Teno Virus (TTV) in Tap Water in Public Schools from Southern Brazil

Torque teno virus (TTV) was surveyed in tap water collected in schools from three municipalities located in the south of Brazil. TTV genomes were found in 11.7 % (4/34) of the samples. TTV DNA was detected in 10.5 % (2/19) of the samples collected at the city of Caxias do Sul and in 25 % (2/8) of the samples from Pelotas. Those cities have a low rate of sewage treatment. All samples from Santa Cruz do Sul, which has nearly 92 % of its sewage treated, were negative. These results suggest that the amount of sewage treated may have an effect on the detection rates of TTV DNA in drinking water in a given urban area, showing a mild negative correlation (r = ?0.76), when comparing the percentage of sewage treatment to the detection of TTV genomes. The detection rate of TTV was also compared with Escherichia coli, showing a strong correlation (r = 0.97), indicating that TTV may be a suitable marker of fecal contamination.     

Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Hepatitis A Virus in Wastewaters in Tunisia

Hepatitis A causes substantial morbidity in both industrialized and non-industrialized countries and represents an important health problem in several southern Mediterranean countries. The objectives of the study were as follows: (a) to assess the occurrence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in Tunisia through the monitoring of urban wastewaters collected at wastewater treatment plants (WTPs); (b) to characterize environmental strains; and (c) to estimate the viral load in raw and treated sewages, in order to evaluate the potential impact on superficial waters receiving discharges. A total of 150 raw and treated wastewaters were collected from three WTPs and analyzed by both qualitative (RT-PCR/nested) and quantitative (qRT-PCR) methods. Of these, 100 (66 %) were found to be positive for HAV by the qualitative assay: 68.3 % in influents and 64.7 % in effluents. The vast majority of HAV sequences belonged to sub-genotype IA, with 11 different strains detected found to be identical to clinical strains isolated from Tunisian patients with acute hepatitis. Five unique variants were also detected, not previously reported in clinical cases. Only two IB strains were found, confirming the rarity of this sub-genotype in this country. The results of the present study indicate a wide circulation of the pathogen in the population, most probably in the form of asymptomatic infections, a finding consistent with the classification of the country as having intermediate/high endemicity. Quantitative data showed high viral loads in influents (3.5E+05 genome copies/liter, mean value) as well as effluents (2.5E+05 genome copies/liter, mean value), suggesting that contaminated water could be a critical element in transmission.     

Atmospheric composition change research: Time to go post-normal?

For more than two decades a number of frameworks for scientific knowledge production are being proposed by science and technology researchers. They all advocate an extended involvement of non-specialists, in particular when it comes to knowledge production applicable to practical societal problems. We look to what extent these new frameworks have taken ground within a particular research community: the ACCENT Network of Excellence which coordinates European atmospheric chemistry and physics research applicable to air pollution and climate change. We did so by stimulating a debate through a “blog”, a survey and in-depth interviews with ACCENT scientists about the interaction between science, policy making and civil society, to which a great deal of ACCENT member contributed in writing or verbally. Most of them had interactions with policy makers and/or the general public, and they generally believe that interactions with spheres other than the scientific are needed. While such interactions give personal insight and satisfaction, they seem to have little impact on the goals and the practice of the scientific work itself. Extended frameworks of science production that go beyond the disciplinary mode seem to emerge at the level of individual scientists, yet they still need to find their way to the level of scientific project management. In this paper we discuss the justifications and barriers to implement a higher degree of extended knowledge integration in applied science projects such as ACCENT. It is felt that the community of atmospheric chemists and physicists is mature for such an implementation and recommendations are given to help and make this happen.     

Biochemical effects of acetaminophen in aquatic species: edible clams Venerupis decussata and Venerupis philippinarum

Acetaminophen (paracetamol) is one of the most used pharmaceutical drugs, due to its antipyretic and analgesic properties that turn it into a primary choice in varied pathologies and conditions. However, and despite its massive use, acetaminophen is not exempt of adverse effects, especially when administered in over dosage, which are related to the formation of toxic metabolites by oxidative pathways. It is thus possible to observe that toxicity caused by acetaminophen is usually mediated by reactive oxygen species and can result in multiple effects, ranging from protein denaturation to lipid peroxidation and DNA damage. The occurrence of acetaminophen has been reported in the aquatic environment, being important to address the potential exertion of toxic effects on nontarget environmentally exposed organisms. The present study intended to characterize the effects of acute acetaminophen exposure on physiological traits (antioxidant defense, oxidative damage) of two species of bivalves, namely, the edible clams Venerupis decussata and Venerupis philippinarum. Results showed a significant increase in all oxidative stress biomarkers, evidencing the bioactivation of acetaminophen into a deleterious prooxidant, triggering the onset of deleterious effects. Furthermore, strong interspecific differences were observed among responses of the two tested species, which was a major issue due to intrinsic ecological implications when one considers that both species share the same habitat.     

The carajas iron ore project: The strategy of a third world state- owned enterprise in a depressed market

This paper describes how the Carajas iron ore project was set up in February 1985 at a time of deep recession in the iron ore and steel industries. Development of the project was met with much criticism, mainly from North American steel makers, who argued that the project would only be successful through the support of a Third World government, highly dependent on foreign exchange, without any consideration being given to its economic feasibility or to the fundamentals of the market. The authors explain why the World Bank took the step of setting up the project and how its development can be partly explained by the interests of the Japanese and European steel makers. The role of the Brazilian government is explained and the authors conclude that the relatively low rate of investment anticipated by the project will be overshadowed by the high gains in foreign exchange.     

Characterization of humic-rich hydrocolloids and their metal species by means of competing ligand and metal exchange--an on-site approach

An improved on-site characterization of humic-rich hydrocolloids and their metal species in aquatic environments was the goal of the present approach. Both ligand exchange with extreme chelators (diethylenetetraaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), ethylendiaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)) and metal exchange with strongly competitive cations (Cu(II) were used on-site to characterize the conditional stability and availability of colloidal metal species in a humic-rich German bogwater lake (Venner Moor, Münsterland). A mobile time-controlled tangential-flow ultrafiltration technique (cut-off: 1 kDa) was applied to differentiate operationally between colloidal metal species and free metal ions, respectively. DOC (dissolved organic carbon) and metal determinations were carried out off-site using a home-built carbon analyzer and conventional ICP-OES (inductively-coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry), respectively. From the metal exchange equilibria obtained on-site the kinetic and thermodynamic stability of the original metal species (Fe, Mn, Zn) could be characterized. Conditional exchange constants Kex obtained from aquatic metal species and competitive Cu(II) ions follow the order Mn > Zn > > Fe. Obviously, Mn and Zn bound to humic-rich hydrocolloids are very strongly competed by Cu(II) ions, in contrast to Fe which is scarcely exchangeable. The exchange of aquatic metal species (e.g. Fe) by DTPA/EDTA exhibited relatively slow kinetics but rather high metal availabilities, in contrast to their Cu(II) exchange.     

Landform Classification for Land Use Planning in Developed Areas: An Example in Segovia Province (Central Spain)

Landform-based physiographic maps, also called land systems inventories, have been widely and successfully used in undeveloped/rural areas in several locations, such as Australia, the western United States, Canada, and the British ex-colonies. This paper presents a case study of their application in a developed semi-urban/suburban area (Segovia, Spain) for land use planning purposes. The paper focuses in the information transfer process, showing how land use decision-makers, such as governments, planners, town managers, etc., can use the information developed from these maps to assist them. The paper also addresses several issues important to the development and use of this information, such as the goals of modern physiography, the types of landform-based mapping products, the problem of data management in developed areas, and the distinctions among data, interpretations, and decisions.     

Alarm communication: a new function for the scent-gland secretion in harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Most harvestmen are nocturnal, nonacoustical, and nonvisual arthropods. They have a pair of exocrine glands on the cephalothorax that produce defensive volatile secretions. We investigated in the field the possible alarm effect of these secretions in the gregarious harvestman Goniosoma aff. proximum. A cotton swab soaked with the species' own exudate (treatment), or with water (control), was held 1-2 cm from the center of harvestmen aggregations. The results showed that the gland secretion elicits an alarm response in Goniosoma: whereas 73.3% of the aggregations dispersed after being stimulated with the gland exudate, only 3.3% responded to the water control. Respondent groups are larger than nonrespondent groups, and the time of reaction to the secretion was inversely related to group size. This is the first demonstration of a chemically-mediated alarm effect in harvestmen. The alarm response in gregarious harvestmen has possibly evolved as a by-product of a primarily defensive reaction in the context of predator avoidance. The discovery of this novel function of scent-gland secretion is meaningful in view of the widespread occurrence of gregarious habit among species of the order Opiliones.