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Water footprints have been widely used to illustrate the consumption of water in many situations, for instance, in products, processes, or regions of interest. In this work, we analyzed—using a sensitivity analysis approach—the effect of some variables in the calculation of the water footprint in the viticulture in the Brazilian Serra Gaúcha (the major producing region of Brazilian wine). The classical Penman–Monteith model for evapotransporation was considered, with uncertainties in some parameters (dead mulch covering a fraction of the vineyard, maximum temperatures for some months, the altitudes and latitudes of the site). A sensitivity analysis was conducted using the SAFE toolbox under Octave framework. The results indicated that the the portion of the water footprint corresponding to evapotranspiration is more sensitive to the values of the mulch-covered fraction and the altitude of the site in comparison with the latitude and the maximum temperatures.

ABSTRACT The objective of this work was to characterize reference bacteria strains, belonging to the genus Bacillus and species of correlated genera, by simplified morphological and biochemical methods. The morphological characterization is based on the aspects of the colonies, as well as cytomorphology of the species, by optical and scanning microscopy. For biochemical characterization, the sensitivity test to antimicrobials by disk-diffusion is performed. Moreover, the strains were characterized by extracting intracellular proteins. Characteristics such as shape, color, and consistency of the colonies, in addition to the type of spore and production of protein crystals were determinants for the morphological characterization of these species. The antibiogram revealed high resistance to β-lactam group antibiotics, in species of Bacillus cereus s.l group. In Bacillus subtilis s.l. group there was high susceptibility to antibiograms, mainly for species of B. subtilis. The protein profile provided specific protein patterns for some species, mainly bands of 130 e 65 kDa for B. thuringiensis, 140 e 130 kDa for Lysinibacillus sphaericus, and 115 kDa for Brevibacillus laterosporus. Our results showed that the morphological and biochemical characterizations, provided a simple identification, with easy interpretation, and low cost.

Abstract Despite being little explored for petroporphyrins recovery from oils and bituminous shales, adsorption and desorption processes can be feasible alternatives to obtain a similar synthetic material, and to characterize their original organic materials. Experimental designs were used to analyze the effects of qualitative (e.g., type of adsorbent, solvent, and diluent) and quantitative (e.g., temperature and solid/liquid ratio) variables on the adsorptive and desorptive performance regarding nickel octaethylporphyrin (Ni-OEP) removal using carbon-based adsorbents. The evaluation variables, adsorption capacity (qe) and desorption percentage (%desorption) were optimized by means of the Differential Evolution algorithm. The most efficient adsorbent for removing/recovery Ni-OEP was activated-carbon coconut shell, in which dispersive π-π type and acid-base interactions were likely formed. The highest values of qe and %desorption were obtained using toluene as solvent, chloroform as diluent, 293 K as temperature, and 0.5 mg.mL-1 as solid/liquid ratio for adsorption, and a higher temperature (323 K) and lower solid/liquid ratio (0.2 mg.mL-1) for desorption. The optimization process resulted in qe of 6.91 mg.g-1 and %desorption of 35.2%. In the adsorption-desorption cycles, approximately 77% of the adsorbed porphyrins were recovered. The results demonstrated the potential of carbon-based materials as adsorbent materials for obtaining porphyrin compounds from oils and bituminous shales.

The Bacillus thuringiensis bacterium has demonstrated an effective potential in the control of several agricultural pests, among them nematodes.This study aimed to standardize and establish a methodology of bioassays of B. thuringiensisand Meloidogyne incognita with the use of resorcinol, select B. thuringiensis strains toxic to M. incognitain vitroand molecularly identify the presence of the cry6 gene in B. thuringiensis strains. Second-stage juveniles were subjected to resorcinol doses, verifying that the concentration of 0.2 % did not cause mortality and provided the Cry6A toxin ingestion. Thereafter, 16 B. thuringiensis strains were tested in the presence or absence of resorcinol, resulting in mortality rates of 4-36 %. Among the B. thuringiensis strains analyzed for the presence of the cry6 gene, only one was detected (S1617).

A precarização no mundo do trabalho está relacionada com o avanço do neoliberalismo e atinge todos os trabalhadores, incluindo os profissionais que realizam a supervisão de estágio em Serviço Social. Partindo desta premissa, o artigo tem o objetivo de refletir sobre as condições de precarização que têm se manifestado no cotidiano do processo de supervisão. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, norteada pelo método do materialismo histórico sob alguns pressupostos da teoria do cotidiano de Agnes Heller. Inicialmente, apresentamos o contexto da reestruturação produtiva após a década de 70; posteriormente, vinculamos a precarização à desigualdade decorrente da divisão social do trabalho. A conclusão que se destaca demonstra que os indicadores da precarização que se manifesta nas condições de trabalho, na demanda profissional e na relação com o espaço sócio-ocupacional é (in)visibilizada no principal condicionante, que é a falta de tempo.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seeds play a significant role in toxicity tests of isolated chemicals, pesticides, and environmental samples. Commonly, the main variables under study are the rate of seed germination and root elongation at the end of five days of exposure. Another organisms used in environmental assessment of soil quality are terrestrial isopods. The parameter evaluated in this assay is usually mortality rate. In this study, we suggest to use the daily number of germinated seeds and wet weight of plants, and feeding measurements (consumption rate, assimilation rate, assimilation efficiency and growth rate) in woodlice (Armadillidium vulgare and Porcellio dilatatus) to detect toxicity of moderately contaminated soil samples. The lettuce seed assay proved to be more efficient in the tested conditions, however, we do not reject the use of feeding parameters in terrestrial isopods in toxicological screening of contaminated soils.

Em continuidade a reflexão realizada em 2007/2008 e publica- da em 2009 por Martins et al., “Impactos das Nanotecnologias na cadeia de produção da soja brasileira”, o presente artigo tem por objetivo introduzir a questão do desenvolvimento das na- notecnologias e suas relações com agricultura familiar e a segu- rança e soberania alimentar no Brasil. Um panorama geral será apresentado em termos de como estamos no desenvolvimento das nanotecnologias aplicadas à agricultura. Apresenta-se quem no Brasil está trabalhando no desenvolvimento dessa tecnolo- gia aplicada à agricultura, bem como será apresentada de for- ma sintética o que ocorre no panorama global. A partir dos ele- mentos anteriormente indicados e de princípios adotados neste trabalho relativos ao tema segurança e soberania alimentar será apresentado uma análise em termos prospectivos dos possíveis impactos do desenvolvimento das nanotecnologias aplicadas à agricultura em suas relações com a agricultura familiar brasi- leira e também os possíveis impactos nas questões relativas à segurança e soberania alimentar posta pelo desenvolvimento dessa tecnologia no caso brasileiro. Ao final apresentam-se al- gumas conclusões preliminares para a discussão pública

El presente texto ofrece una reflexión crítica sobre la experiencia brasileña en la participación pública en nanotecnología. Comienza problematizando la cuestión de la divulgación científica de la nanotecnología para luego dar cuenta de la misión de la Red de Investigación en Nanotecnología, Sociedad y Medio Ambiente (RENANOSOMA) así como de sus estrategias de divulgación y que incluyen: actividades presenciales, producción audiovisual y divulgación vía Internet (chats y web TV), esta última se presenta haciendo énfasis en el programa “Nanotecnologia do Avesso”. Después de presentar una evaluación de las estratégias, se reflexiona acerca de la posibilidad de mejorarlas, en particular en lo que se refiere al mencionado programa. Finalmente, se presentan las conclusiones del trabajo.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi testar a eficiência do comprimento relativo de raiz seminal (CRRS) e do comprimento líquido de raiz seminal (CLRS) como indicadores fenotípicos quanto à tolerância ao alumínio na avaliação de plantas individuais de milho. Plântulas de genótipos tolerantes e suscetíveis ao Al foram submetidas a solução nutritiva contendo nível tóxico deste elemento, por um período de sete dias, após o qual, determinaram-se os valores de CRRS e CLRS. Os resultados obtidos quando se utilizaram valores médios para CRRS e CLRS mostraram que ambos os índices foram capazes de discriminar com eficiência os materiais tolerantes dos suscetíveis. Entretanto, quando foram utilizados os valores de CRRS e CLRS obtidos a partir de plantas individuais, observou-se a existência de plantas tolerantes com valores típicos de plantas suscetíveis, o que indica que a avaliação fenotípica de plantas individuais pelos dois índices está sujeita a erros significativos, principalmente na caracterização de plantas suscetíveis. Portanto, em estudos para mapeamento de "quantitative trait loci" (QTLs) ligados à tolerância ao Al, nos quais utilizam-se estes índices fenotípicos, o mais apropriado é avaliar famílias F3, onde é possível obter valores médios para CRRS e CLRS e utilizar estas médias para representar os valores fenotípicos das respectivas plantas F2.The objective of this work was to verify the efficiency of the relative seminal root length (RSRL) and net seminal root length (NSRL) as phenotypic indexes for aluminum tolerance in individual maize plants. Seedlings of Al tolerant and susceptible genotypes were grown in nutrient solution containing toxic level of Al for a period of seven days, after which the values of RSRL and NSRL were determined. The results obtained when mean values of RSRL and NSRL were utilized showed that both indexes were able to discriminate tolerant from susceptible maize genotypes. However, when individual values of RSRL and NSRL were utilized, some tolerant plants scored as susceptible ones were observed, showing that the phenotypic evaluation of individual plants by both indexes is subjected to significant errors, mainly in the characterization of susceptible plants. Therefore, in studies for quantitative traits loci (QTLs) mapping for Al tolerance in maize, where these indexes are used, the most appropriate is to use F3 families, where it is possible to obtain mean values for RSRL and NSRL and then utilize these means to represent the phenotypic values of the respective F2 plants.

Frutos de maracujá amarelo (Passjflora edulls f. flavicarpa Deg.), material IAC-275, foram processados para a obtenção da polpa. A polpa obtida foi pasteurizada durante 30 segundos empregando três faixas de temperatura (69 a 72ºC, 73 a 76ºC e 77 a 82ºC). Foi também obtida polpa fresca (sem pasteurizar). Polpas fresca e pasteurizadas foram comparadas utilizando avaliações físico-químicas e microbiológicas. Não houve diferença significativa (p > 0,05) nos valores de acidez total, no pH e no ratio das polpas fresca e pasteurizada. A polpa fresca apresentou menor conteúdo de sólidos solúveis totais (p < 0,05) em relação à polpa pasteurizada e conteúdo de vitamina C praticamente similar, embora tenha havido diferença significativa (p < 0,05) entre a polpa pasteurizada na faixa de temperatura de 69 a 72ºC e as demais. As perdas de vitamina C decorrentes do processamento foram de 5%,4% e 0,6%, quando as faixas de temperatura de 69 a 72°C, 73 a 76°C e 77 a 82°C foram, respectivamente, empregadas. Os resultados da análise microbiológica mostraram que as polpas pasteurizadas apresentaram contagem de bolores e leveduras, de mesófilos aeróbios e de psicrófilos aeróbios significativamente (p < 0,05) menor quando comparadas à polpa fresca, indicando que o tratamento térmico empregado foi adequado.

The taxonomy of the Heliothinae subfamily is complex, often becoming an obstacle in the identification of these species, especially during the larval stage. An alternative is the use of molecular methods such as the PCR-RFLP technique (or Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism), which helps to aid and complement the identification of some Heliothine species. The aim of this study was to establish the PCR-RFLP profile using molecular markers for the identification of four Heliothine species. Specific primers were constructed for the amplification of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1α) genes for identifying Helicoverpa armigera, H. zea, H. gelotopoeon, and Chloridea virescens species. In the digestion of the COI gene with the BfaI enzyme, fragments of 294 bp and 321 bp were obtained for H. armigera, while there was no digestion for H. zea, H. gelotopoeon, and C. virescens. The HpaI enzyme produced fragments of 58 bp and 557 bp for H. gelotopoeon, while there was no digestion for H. armigera, H. zea, and C. virescens. The digestion of the EF-1α gene with the EcoRV enzyme produced fragments of 142 bp and 964 bp for C. virescens, while there was no cleavage for the other heliothines. These molecular markers can help the entomologists, aiding in the discrimination between H. zea, H. armigera, H. gelotopoeon, and C. virescens, and can also be used as a tool for monitoring the spread of these pests in agricultural regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]