Avaliação da qualidade das águas de poços em comunidades e assentamentos rurais Mossoró-RN

As águas subterrâneas são apontadas como uma alternativa viável para garantir o acesso das comunidades rurais do nordeste à água, a partir de investimentos públicos na perfuração de poços tubulares. Muitas comunidades rurais de Mossoró, RN, são abastecidas com água proveniente do aquífero Jandaíra, de elevada concentração de sais, sendo utilizada na irrigação de culturas sem o manejo adequado para o seu uso sustentável, o que pode acarretar em problemas de salinização. Devido aos impactos causados pelo uso de águas salobras na irrigação, para viabilizar a sua utilização deve-se adotar práticas de manejo da água e solo para o controle da salinidade. Desta forma de faz necessário caracterizar essas águas, para que seja possível estabelecer um manejo do sistema solo-água-planta da área irrigada. Assim, o presente trabalho objetivou avaliar a qualidade da água para fins de irrigação de comunidades rurais de Mossoró, abastecidas com águas salobras provenientes de poços tubulares, fornecendo estas informações como uma ferramenta de auxílio para o manejo adequado da utilização destas águas na irrigação. As análises dos resultados indicaram que as águas de poços de todas as comunidades apresentaram alto grau de restrição de uso para a irrigação quanto aos riscos de salinização, sodicidade e toxicidade de íons cloreto, necessitando de práticas de manejo

Gene probing reveals the widespread distribution, diversity and abundance of isoprene-degrading bacteria in the environment

Background: Approximately 500 Tg of isoprene are emitted to the atmosphere annually, an amount similar to that of methane, and despite its significant effects on the climate, very little is known about the biological degradation of isoprene in the environment. Isolation and characterisation of isoprene degraders at the molecular level has allowed the development of probes targeting isoA encoding the α-subunit of the isoprene monooxygenase. This enzyme belongs to the soluble diiron centre monooxygenase family and catalyses the first step in the isoprene degradation pathway. The use of probes targeting key metabolic genes is a successful approach in molecular ecology to study specific groups of bacteria in complex environments. Here, we developed and tested a novel isoA PCR primer set to study the distribution, abundance, and diversity of isoprene degraders in a wide range of environments. Results: The new isoA probes specifically amplified isoA genes from taxonomically diverse isoprene-degrading bacteria including members of the genera Rhodococcus, Variovorax, and Sphingopyxis. There was no cross-reactivity with genes encoding related oxygenases from non-isoprene degraders. Sequencing of isoA amplicons from DNA extracted from environmental samples enriched with isoprene revealed that most environments tested harboured a considerable variety of isoA sequences, with poplar leaf enrichments containing more phylogenetically diverse isoA genes. Quantification by qPCR using these isoA probes revealed that isoprene degraders are widespread in the phyllosphere, terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments. Specifically, soils in the vicinity of high isoprene-emitting trees contained the highest number of isoprene-degrading bacteria. Conclusion: This study provides the molecular ecology tools to broaden our knowledge of the distribution, abundance and diversity of isoprene degraders in the environment, which is a fundamental step necessary to assess the impact that microbes have in mitigating the effects of this important climate-active gas

The role of income and psychological distress in the relationship between work loss and smoking cessation: Findings from three International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe countries

Introduction: The relationship between work loss and smoking has not been studied extensively, and underlying factors are often not examined. The aim of this study was to test two hypotheses. First, work loss is associated with greater intention to quit and more likelihood of smoking cessation, and this relationship is moderated by a decrease in income. Second, work loss is associated with lower quit intention and lower rates of smoking cessation, and this relationship is moderated by an increase in psychological distress. Methods : We used pooled data from three countries participating in the ITC Project: France, Germany and the Netherlands (n=2712). We measured unemployment, income and psychological distress at two consecutive survey waves, and calculated changes between survey waves. We first conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to examine the association between work loss and smoking cessation behavior. Next, we added income decrease and psychological distress increase to the models. Finally, we added interaction terms of work loss by income decrease and work loss by distress increase to the model. Results : Work loss was not associated with quit intention, quit attempts, and quit success. When income decrease and psychological distress increase were added to the model, we found a positive association between distress increase and quit attempts. The interactions, however, were not statistically significant. Conclusions : Our results indicate that smokers who become unemployed and face a decrease in income are not less likely to quit smoking than smokers who are employed