Analysis of private natural heritage reserves as a conservation strategy for the biodiversity of the cocoa region of the southern State of Bahia, Brazil Análise das reservas particulares do patrimônio natural como estratégia de conservação na região cacaueira do Sul da Bahia, Brasil

Brazil was the first country in Latin America to establish and regulate this type of reserve, and there are currently more than 700 Private Nature Heritage Reserves (RPPN in Portuguese) officially recognized by either federal or state environmental agencies. Together, these RPPN protect more than a half million hectares of land in the country. The coastal forests in the southern part of Bahia State extend 100 to 200 km inland, gradually changing in physiognomy as they occupy the dryer inland areas. The coastal forest has been subjected to intense deforestation, and currently occupies less than 10% of its original area. For this work the creation processes of the RPPN were consulted to obtain the data creation time, size of property, the condition of the remaining forest, succession chain and the last paid tax. After that, interviews with the owners were made to confirm this data. Sixteen RPPN have been established in this region until 2005. Their sizes vary from 4.7 to 800 ha. Ten of these RPPN are located within state or federal conservation areas or their buffer zones. In spite of the numerous national and international conservation strategies and environmental policies focused on the region, the present situation of the cocoa zone is threatening the conservation of the region's natural resources. The establishment of private reserves in the cocoa region could conceivably improve these conservation efforts. This type of reserve can be established under a uniform system supported by federal legislation, and could count on private organizations.<br>O Brasil foi o primeiro País na América Latina a estabelecer e regulamentar este tipo de reserva e hoje, há mais de 700 Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) oficialmente reconhecidas pelos órgãos ambientais federais ou estaduais. Juntos, estas reservas protegem mais de meio milhão de hectares em diferentes biomas dos Pais. A Floresta Atlântica na região Sul da Bahia se estende até 200 km para o interior, gradualmente mudando sua fitofisionomia até as áreas mais secas. Esta formação florística vem sendo desmatada desde sua colonização e atualmente ocupa menos de 10% de sua área original. Para este trabalho os processos no IBAMA para a criação das RPPN foram consultados para a obtenção dos dados de tempo de criação, tamanho da propriedade, estado de conservação do remanescente florestal, cadeia sucessória e ultimo imposto pago. Após essa sistematização, entrevistas com os proprietários foram realizadas para a confirmação dos dados. Dezesseis RPPN foram estabelecidas nesta região, com áreas variando entre 4,7 a 800 hectares, dentro de propriedades que variam de 14 a 1200 hectares. Dez destas RPPN estão localizadas dentro ou na zona de amortecimento de Unidades de Conservação federais ou estaduais. Apesar das inúmeras estratégias de conservação internacionais e das políticas ambientais nacionais focadas na região a situação da região cacaueira do Sul da Bahia é de forte ameaça de seus recursos naturais. O estabelecimento de reservas privadas nesta região pode aumentar o sucesso dos esforços de conservação, pois este tipo de reserva pode ser implantada em parceria entre o governo e as organizações privadas

Dihydroisocoumarins and phthalide from wood samples infested by fungi

Wood samples, infested by fungi during storage, were shown to contain, besides the known 5-methyl-mellein, additional (3R)-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-3,4-dihydroisocoumarins substituted by 7-methyl, 5-formyl, 5-carboxy, 5-hydroxy, 5-methoxy, 6-methoxy-5-methyl and 6,7-dimethoxy-5-methyl groups, as well as 6-formyl-7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-4-methylphthalide. Several 2-methylchromanones were synthesized in order to show that this class of compounds can be distinguished from 3-methyl-3,4-dihydroisocoumarins by MS. © 1978

DNA extraction from human saliva deposited on skin and its use in forensic identification procedures Extração de DNA de saliva humana depositada sobre a pele e sua aplicabilidade aos processos de identificação forense

Saliva is usually deposited in bite marks found in many homicides, assault and other criminal cases. In the present study, saliva obtained from volunteers was deposited on skin and recovered for DNA extraction and typing in order to evaluate its usefulness for practical case investigation and discuss the contribution of forensic dentistry to saliva DNA typing. Twenty saliva samples were colleted from different donors and used as suspects' samples. Five of these samples were randomly selected and deposited (250 µl) on arm skin. Saliva was collected from skin using the double swab technique. DNA from saliva and skin-deposited saliva samples was extracted by the phenol-chloroform method. DNA samples were amplified by PCR for DNA typing using a set of 15 STRs. The recovery of DNA from saliva deposited in the skin was 14 to 10 times lower than DNA quantity from saliva samples. DNA typing was demonstrated in 4 of 5 deposited saliva samples, the likelihood ratios estimated for these samples based on data of the Brazilian population were 1:11, 1:500, 1:159.140 and 1:153.700.123. Our results indicate that standardized procedures used for DNA collection and extraction from skin-deposited saliva can be used as a method to recover salivary DNA in criminal cases. However, it is important to observe that DNA recovery in forensic samples can be difficult. This study suggests that the analysis of saliva deposited on skin be incorporated into a criminal investigation since it may have great discriminatory power.<br>A saliva é usualmente depositada em marcas de mordida encontradas em homicídios, agressões e outros crimes. Neste estudo, a saliva obtida de voluntários foi depositada na pele, recuperada para extração e tipagem do DNA, para avaliação de sua utilização e sua contribuição na odontologia legal. Vinte amostras de saliva foram coletadas de diferentes doadores e utilizadas como amostras de suspeitos. Cinco dessas amostras foram sorteadas e depositadas (250 µl) na pele. A saliva foi coletada da pele usando-se a técnica do duplo esfregaço. O DNA da saliva e das amostras de saliva depositadas sobre a pele foi extraído pelo método fenol-clorofórmio. As amostras de DNA foram amplificadas por PCR para a tipagem do DNA usando-se um grupo de 15 STRs. O DNA recuperado da saliva depositada na pele foi de 14 a 10 vezes menor que o DNA das 20 amostras de saliva. O perfil do DNA foi demonstrado em 4 de 5 amostras de saliva depositadas, e a razão de verossimilhança das amostras baseada em dados da população brasileira foi 1:11, 1:500, 1:159,140 e 1:153,700,123. Nossos resultados indicam que procedimentos padronizados utilizados para coleta e extração de DNA de saliva depositada podem ser utilizados como um método para recuperar DNA de saliva em casos forenses; entretanto, é importante observar que amostras forenses podem apresentar problemas na recuperação do DNA em quantidades adequadas. Este estudo sugere que a análise de saliva depositada sobre a pele pode ser incorporada ao conjunto de provas de um inquérito criminal já que possui um grande poder discriminatório

Inflammation enhances the risks of stroke and death in chronic chagas disease patients.

Ischemic strokes have been implicated as a cause of death in Chagas disease patients. Inflammation has been recognized as a key component in all ischemic processes, including the intravascular events triggered by vessel interruption, brain damage and repair. In this study, we evaluated the association between inflammatory markers and the death risk (DR) and stroke risk (SR) of patients with different clinical forms of chronic Chagas disease. The mRNA expression levels of cytokines, transcription factors expressed in the adaptive immune response (Th1, Th2, Th9, Th17, Th22 and regulatory T cell), and iNOS were analyzed by realtime PCR in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of chagasic patients who exhibited the indeterminate, cardiac, digestive and cardiodigestive clinical forms of the disease, and the levels of these transcripts were correlated with the DR and SR. Cardiac patients exhibited lowermRNA nexpression levels of GATA-3, FoxP3, AHR, IL-4, IL-9, IL-10 and IL 22 but exhibited higher expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α compared with indeterminate patients. Digestive patients showed similar levels of GATA-3, IL-4 and IL-10 than indeterminate patients. Cardiodigestive patients exhibited higher levels of TNF-α compared with indeterminate and digestive patients. Furthermore, we demonstrated that patients with high DR and SR exhibited lower GATA-3, FoxP3, and IL-10 expression and higher IFN-γ, TNF-α and iNOS mRNA expression than patients with low DR and SR. A negative correlation was observed between Foxp3 and IL-10 mRNA expression and the DR and SR. Moreover, TNF-α and iNOS expression was positively correlated with DR and SR. Our data suggest that an inflammatory imbalance in chronic Chagas disease patients is associated with a high DR and SR. This study provides a better understanding of the stroke pathobiology in the general population and might aid the development of therapeutic strategies for controlling the morbidity and mortality of Chagas disease