Follow-up of mercury levels in fish,human hair and urine in the Madeira and Tapajós basins,Amazon, Brazil

Informal economy of gold mining has contaminated some important river basins in Amazon. Follow-up studies on critical compartments showed some areas with high Hg levels in fish as well as in human hair samples. Average Hg in piscivorous fish in the Madeira river itself was 846 ppb (N=284) with a maximum of 3921 ppb. Mercury in fish from non polluted areas in this basin shows high variability, even for single species. A seasonal variation in Hg content was observed, with higher values at the end of the dry season. In the upper Tapajós basin comparable values were found for fish but with a definite decreasing trend downstream. Average value for piscivorous fish in the whole Tapajós basin is 482 ppb (N=122) with a maximum value of 3770 ppb. Hair Hg was higher in fishing villages in the Tapajós (average: 17 ppm; with N=432 and maximum value of 176 ppm) than in the Madeira (average: 9 ppm; N=169; maximum 71 ppm), and data from some areas of the Tapajós suggest a decrease with time. Mercury was much higher in urine of goldshop workers in Santarém (low Tapajós) than in Alta Floresta (high Tapajbs) and show a decreasing trend in both cases, probably related to the significant decline in gold mining activities during the study period (1986–1994).     

Production of Pearl Millet Irrigated with Different Levels of Brackish Water and Organic Matter

ABSTRACT

The objective is to determine the growth, yield and chemical characteristics of pearl millet irrigated with different levels of brackish water and organic matter in two cultivation cycles. The experimental design was randomized blocks in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement, composed of 4 levels of brackish irrigation (25, 50, 75 and 100% evapotranspiration), 4 levels of organic matter (0, 15, 30 and 45 t ha^?1) with 3 repetitions. Along two cultivation cycles, pearl millet crop was analyzed for: plant growth variables, fresh and dry mass production, water-use efficiency, and chemical composition. There was significant interaction between applied water levels and organic matter for lignin in the 2nd cut (P < .05). The number of leaves, number of dead leaves and fresh mass production were influenced by the isolated effect of brackish water levels in cut 1 (P < .05). In turn, fresh mass production, dry mass production, plant height, leaves length, panicle length, fresh mass production, crude protein and ether extract were influenced by the isolated effect of saline water levels in the 2nd cut (P < .05). Growth, biomass production and chemical composition variables in second cut are positively influenced by different brackish irrigation levels under low rainfall conditions.     

Effect of water and nutrient supply on root distribution in anEucalyptus globulus plantation

Water and nutrients were supplied to anEucalyptus globulus plantation in a controlled experiment in west central Portugal. The trees were planted in a sandy soil at a spacing of 3 × 3 m. The experiment consisted of four treatments: irrigation, irrigation plus fertilization, fertilization without irrigation, and a rain fed and unfertilized control. The quantification of root biomass was carried out 13 mo after planting. When the plantation was 31 mo old, a trench was dug in the soil to uncover the distribution of the roots of individual trees. In the irrigated treatments root biomass was higher than in the control and in the fertilized plots. Differences in fine and coarse root distribution along the soil profile were also observed. In both irrigated treatments roots were concentrated along tree rows, where the irrigation tubes were dripping water or water plus nutrients.     

Synthesis of a combinatorial library of amides and its evaluation against the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is a polyphagous pest that causes important damage in different regions of America and mainly affects corn crops in both tropical and subtropical areas. Currently, control relies on both transgenic plants and/or chemical pesticides. In this work we describe the preparation of an indexed combinatorial library of amides and its toxic effect by contact against S. frugiperda . (E)-1-(1-Piperidinyl)-3-[4-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]-2-propen-1-one was the most active compound with an LD(50) = 0.793 μg mg(-1) of larva. This amide was also evaluated by ingestion and at the lowest concentration (1 mg kg(-1)) achieved 83.3% mortality.     

Genetic diversity of Musa diploid and triploid accessions from the Brazilian banana breeding program estimated by microsatellite markers

Banana (Musa spp.) is one of the most consumed fruits worldwide. Production is based mainly on triploid cultivars, and most genetic improvement programs aim to generate tetraploid hybrids obtained from the crossing of established triploid cultivars with a diploid parent genotype, improved or wild, exhibiting the trait of interest, normally resistance to biotic factors. Microsatellites were used to investigate the genetic variability and relationships between 58 Musa genotypes, including 49 diploids and nine triploid cultivars maintained at the Musa germplasm collection of the Brazilian dessert banana breeding program. Thirty-three primer pairs developed for banana were tested, and nine amplified reproducible and discrete fragments, producing a total of 115 alleles. The average number of alleles amplified per primer was 12.8, ranging from 10 to 15. The diploid genotypes presented the largest genetic variability, demonstrated by the large number of alleles detected, and the low similarity between the clones. The phenetic analysis clustered the triploid cultivars in a separated group, with the exception of the Nanica and Gros Michel cultivars, which showed high similarity with the diploid cultivar Mambee Thu. It was not possible to separate the wild diploid genotypes from the cultivated ones, indicating a common origin of these genotypes. A high proportion of duplicated alleles and/or loci was observed for diploid and triploid genotypes. The information gathered about the similarity between diploid and triploid accessions will help to define potential crosses to maximize the recovery of the typical fruit qualities required in Brazil (AAB, Pome and Silk dessert banana).     

Search for Resistance to Crenate Broomrape (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Orobanche crenata</Emphasis> Forsk.) in Pea Germplasm

Orobanche crenata Forsk. is a major constraint for pea production in Mediterranean and East Asian countries. To solve the problem of the lack of resistance in pea cultivars, a screening for resistance was performed under field conditions in a germplasm collection of 575 accessions of Pisum sativum L. No complete resistance was found but varying levels of resistance were identified and confirmed in further field seasons and in pots experiments in the greenhouse. Resistance was quantitative resulting in a reduction in the number of emerged broomrapes per pea plant. Broomrape infection and expression of resistance proved to be highly influenced by environmental conditions. Resistance is the consequence of the combination of several resistance mechanisms preventing or hampering establishment of broomrape and/or development of established tubercles. Resistance identified could suffice to prevent broomrape damage in normal years, but might need to be implemented with other control measures in very conducive years. Resistant accessions have been crossed with pea cultivars and submitted to a breeding programme in which accumulation of levels of resistance to broomrape is a priority.     

Effect of a Bowman-Birk proteinase inhibitor from Phaseolus coccineus on Hypothenemus hampei gut proteinases in vitro

The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is an important devastating coffee pest worldwide. Both trypsin and chymotrypsin enzyme activities from H. hampei larval midgut can be inactivated by proteinaceous enzyme-inhibitors. A serine proteinase inhibitor belonging to the Bowman-Birk class was purified from a wild accession of Phaseolus coccineus L. seeds. The inhibitor (PcBBI1) is a cysteine-rich protein that is heat-stable at alkaline pH. MALDI-TOF/MS analysis showed that PcBBI1 occurs in seeds as a monomer (8689 Da) or dimer (17,378 Da). Using in vitro inhibition assays, it was found that PcBBI1 has a high inhibitory activity against H. hampei trypsin-like enzymes, bovine pancreatic chymotrypsin, and trypsin. According to this, PcBBI1 could be a promising tool to make genetically modified coffee with resistance to coffee berry borer.     

Contents of carboxylic acids and two phenolics and antioxidant activity of dried portuguese wild edible mushrooms

The organic acids and phenolics compositions of nine wild edible mushrooms species (Suillus bellini, Tricholomopsis rutilans, Hygrophorus agathosmus, Amanita rubescens, Russula cyanoxantha, Boletus edulis, Tricholoma equestre, Suillus luteus, and Suillus granulatus) were determined by HPLC-UV and HPLC-DAD, respectively. The antioxidant potential of these species was also assessed by using the DPPH* scavenging assay. The results showed that all of the species presented a profile composed of at least five organic acids: oxalic, citric, malic, quinic, and fumaric acids. In a general way, the pair of malic plus quinic acids were the major compounds. Only very small amounts of two phenolic compounds were found in some of the analyzed species: p-hydroxybenzoic acid (in A. rubescens, R. cyanoxantha, and T. equestre) and quercetin (in S. luteus and S. granulatus). All of the species exhibited a concentration-dependent scavenging ability against DPPH*. T. rutilans revealed the highest antioxidant capacity.     

Antioxidant properties of trans-epsilon-viniferin as compared to stilbene derivatives in aqueous and nonaqueous media

trans-Epsilon-viniferin, the dimer of resveratrol, extracted from Vitis vinifera, has been evaluated for its antioxidant capacity. Its properties have been compared to those of resveratrol and synthetic stilbenic derivatives (4-hydroxystilbene, 4,4'-dihydroxystilbene, 3,5-dihydroxystilbene, and trimethylresveratrol), in regard to their liposolubility using two media with different polarity. The bleaching of beta-carotene by lipoperoxyl (LOO.) radicals in an oil/water (O/W) emulsion and the scavenging of superoxide anions (O(-)(2) in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) using 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide as a spin trap were followed using UV-visible and electron paramagnetic resonance, respectively. Epsilon-viniferin exhibits the best antioxidant capacity in the DMSO/O(-)(2) polar system (IC(50) = 0.14 mM) while 4,4'-dihydroxystilbene presents the highest antioxidant capacity in the O/W/LOO. system (inhibition of beta-carotene bleaching, 82%). Partition coefficients and kinetics of partition between 1-octanol and water were measured to discuss the antioxidant efficiency of the compounds in relation with their chemical structure.