Reconnaissance survey of the soils of Bragatina region, Pará State, Brazil

A Região Bragantina está localizada a nordeste do Estado do Pará nas latitudes de 1°26’ N e1°40’ S e longitude de 47°24’ E W Grw e 48º30' O W Grw. Ocupa uma área de 16428 km² correspondendo a 1,3% do Estado do Pará. Trata-se da área mais povoada do Estado, com 33,5 habitantes por quilômetro quadrado, contribuindo com cerca de 50% da produção agrícola do Estado. No presente trabalho se estabeleceu a classificação genética dos solos localizados nessa zona, sendo que sua finalidade foi definir e limitar as principais ocorrências das grandes unidades de solo, que tivessem significado para a avaliação geral dos recursos da região. Na execução deste estudo teve-se em vista a sua contribuição para o levantamento dos recursos potenciais dos solos brasileiros, de modo semelhante aos trabalhos que a Comissão Brasileira de Solos vem efetuando no Sul, Centro e Nordeste do País. Para o levantamento dos solos foram utilizados como mapa base, cópias da carta cartográfica da Força Aérea Americana, escala 1:200.000, obtidos por processo aerofotogramétrico. O delineamento dos solos foi executado em áreas parciais de 0°30’, tanto para meridiano como paralelo. A identificação dos solos foi feita pelo reconhecimento das características morfológicas dos perfis, complementada por observações gerais como: forma de relevo, cobertura vegetal, material originário, variação de clima, condições de drenagem e outras de interesse. A geologia da Região Bragantina está representada principalmente pelo Terciário e Quaternário, nos quais aparecem as formações Pirabas, Pebas e Pará, além de faixas marginais dos rios de litoral. A cobertura vegetal acha-se representada por pequenas áreas isoladas da floresta equatorial úmida, vegetação de capoeira em vários estágios de desenvolvimento, vegetação de campos e campinas, de tijuco, de praia e vegetação de várzea. O clima é do tipo Af da classificação Köpen com uma precipitação que oscila em torno de 2500 mm anuais. O material originário dos solos, em sua maioria, é constituído por sedimentos do Quaternário e o relevo de uma maneira geral apresenta-se plano ou ligeiramente ondulado. Na área estudada foram mapeados os seguintes solos: Latosol Amarelo, Latosol Vermelho Amarelo, Latosol Concrecionário, Podzol Hidromórfico, Regosol, Gley Pouco Húmico, Gley Húmico e Hidromórficos Indiferenciados. Compõem essas unidades grupos separados ou associações de solos. De cada unidade de mapeamento descrita neste trabalho os autores apresentam informações gerais no que se refere ao conceito geral da unidade, sua descrição e variações, distribuição geográfica, material originário, topografia, vegetação, clima e descrições detalhadas dos perfis modais, além de algumas informações gerais sobre o uso agrícola. Os métodos analíticos físicos e químicos empregados na caracterização da unidade de mapeamento constam de métodos aprovados em reuniões ou congressos da Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo e já clássicos ou utilizados pelas instituições dedicadas a estudos pedológicos, sendo que a maior parte da técnica aqui empregada foi obtida com a execução dos métodos usados pelo Instituto Agronômico de Campinas e Divisão de Pedologia e Fertilidade do Solo. Um mapa anexo apresenta a Carta de Solos da Região Bragantina em cores e na escala 1:200.000.The soil called Bragantina Region is located in the Northeastern part of State of Pará, Brazil, between 1°26’ N and 1°40’ S latitudes and 47º24’ W Gr longitudes. It covers an area of 16,428 square kilometers corresponding to 1.3 percent of the State. It is the most crowded region of the State with a population density of 33.5 inhabitants per square kilometer and also is responsible for 50% of the whole agricultural output of the State. In this work the authors established the genetic classification of the soil of this Region. The purpose was to identify and delimit the main occurrences of the great soil groups which would have importance for a general evaluation of the resources of the region. The carrying out of this study contributes to the Survey of Pontencial Resources of the Brazilian Soils which is being carried out by Brazilian Soil Commission in South, Central and Northeast Brazil. An aerophotogrametric cartographic chart of the American Air Force with 1:200,000 scale was used for the soils survey. Delineation of soil types was made in partial areas of 0°30' both for meridian and for parallel. Sail identification was made by studying the morphological characteristics of profiles complemented by general observations in regard to topography, vegetative cover, parent material, climatic variation, drainage conditions and others. As to geology, Bragantina Region presents mainly tertiary and quaternary soils in which Pirabas, Pebas and Pará formations are distinguished, besides the stripes of low land on the rivers' banks. Vegetations appears as isolated spots of rain equatorial forest, capoeira (Bush vegetation) at various degrees of growth, fields, savannahs, marsh, beach and low land vegetation. Climate may be classified as Af type of Köppen (1948) classification with annual rainfall varying around 2,500 mm. Soil parent material is mostly constituted of quaternary sediments and topography as a rule is flat or slightly waved. In the area chosen for this study the following kind of soils were found: Yellow Latosol, Red-Yellow Latosol, Concretionary Latosol, Ground Water Podzol, Regosol, Low Humic Gley and Not Differentiated Hidromorphic Soils. These units are composed of separeted groups or associations of kinds of soils. For each group described in this work the authors presented general information as to its general concept, its description and variations, geographical distribution, parent material, topography, vegetation and climate and a detailed description of modal profiles, besides of her general information about its agricultural utilization. Chemical and physical analytical methods employed for the characterization of each unit were those approved in meetings and congresses held by the Brazilan Society and taken as classical and employed by national pedological institutions. Most of the techniques used were the same as those employed by the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas and the Food and Agricultural Technological Division of Ministry of Agriculture. This work includes a colored, 1:200,000 scale Soil Chart of Bragantina Region

Attenuation of capsaicin-induced acute and visceral nociceptive pain by α- and β-amyrin, a triterpene mixture isolated from Protium heptaphyllum resin

Abstract The triterpene mixture, a-and h-amyrin, isolated from Protium heptaphyllum resin was evaluated on capsaicinevoked nociception in mice. Orally administered a-and h-amyrin (3 to 100 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the nociceptive behaviors-evoked by either subplantar (1.6 Ag) or intracolonic (149 Ag) application of capsaicin. The antinociception produced by a-and h-amyrin against subplantar capsaicin-induced paw-licking behavior was neither potentiated nor attenuated by ruthenium red (1.5 mg/kg, s.c.), a non-specific antagonist of vanilloid receptor (TRPV1), but was greatly abolished in animals pretreated with naloxone (2 mg/kg, s.c.), suggesting an opioid mechanism. However, participation of a 2 -adrenoceptor involvement was unlikely since yohimbine (2 mg/ kg, i.p.) pretreatment failed to block the antinociceptive effect of a-and h-amyrin in the experimental model of visceral nociception evoked by intracolonic capsaicin. The triterpene mixture (3 to 30 mg/kg, p.o.) neither altered significantly the pentobarbital sleeping time, nor impaired the ambulation or motor coordination in open-field and rota-rod tests, respectively, indicating the absence of sedative or motor abnormality that could account for its antinociception. Nevertheless, a-and h-amyrin could significantly block the capsaicin (10 mg/kg, s.c.)-induce

Expanding tropical forest monitoring into Dry Forests: The DRYFLOR protocol for permanent plots

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordSocietal Impact Statement Understanding of tropical forests has been revolutionized by monitoring in permanent plots. Data from global plot networks have transformed our knowledge of forests’ diversity, function, contribution to global biogeochemical cycles, and sensitivity to climate change. Monitoring has thus far been concentrated in rain forests. Despite increasing appreciation of their threatened status, biodiversity, and importance to the global carbon cycle, monitoring in tropical dry forests is still in its infancy. We provide a protocol for permanent monitoring plots in tropical dry forests. Expanding monitoring into dry biomes is critical for overcoming the linked challenges of climate change, land use change, and the biodiversity crisis.Newton FundNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloCYTE

Zirconium catalyzed synthesis of 2-arylidene Indan-1,3-diones and evaluation of their inhibitory activity against NS2B-NS3 WNV protease

A simple and efficient Knoevenagel procedure for the synthesis of 2-arylidene indan-1,3-diones is herein reported. These compounds were prepared via ZrOCl2·8H2O catalyzed reactions of indan-1,3-dione with several aromatic aldehydes and using water as the solvent. The 2-arylidene indan-1,3-diones were obtained with 53%-95% yield within 10–45 min. The synthesized compounds were evaluated as inhibitors of the NS2B-NS3 protease of West Nile Virus (WNV). It was found that hydroxylated derivatives impaired enzyme activity with varying degrees of effectiveness. The most active hydroxylated derivatives, namely 2-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione (14) and 2-(3,4-dihydroxybenzylidene)-1H-indene-1,3(2H)-dione (17), were characterized as noncompetitive enzymes inhibitors, with IC50 values of 11 μmol L−1 and 3 μmol L−1, respectively. Docking and electrostatic potential surfaces investigations provided insight on the possible binding mode of the most active compounds within an allosteric site

Discovery of novel West Nile Virus protease inhibitor based on isobenzonafuranone and triazolic derivatives of eugenol and indan-1,3-dione scaffolds.

The West Nile Virus (WNV) NS2B-NS3 protease is an attractive target for the development of therapeutics against this arboviral pathogen. In the present investigation, the screening of a small library of fifty-eight synthetic compounds against the NS2-NB3 protease of WNV is described. The following groups of compounds were evaluated: 3-(2-aryl-2-oxoethyl)isobenzofuran-1(3H)-ones; eugenol derivatives bearing 1,2,3-triazolic functionalities; and indan-1,3-diones with 1,2,3-triazolic functionalities. The most promising of these was a eugenol derivative, namely 4-(3-(4-allyl-2-methoxyphenoxy)-propyl)-1-(2-bromobenzyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (35), which inhibited the protease with IC50 of 6.86 μmol L-1. Enzyme kinetic assays showed that this derivative of eugenol presents competitive inhibition behaviour. Molecular docking calculations predicted a recognition pattern involving the residues His51 and Ser135, which are members of the catalytic triad of the WNV NS2B-NS3 protease