Avaliação da susceptibilidade magnética e teores totais de elementos minerais em amostras de solos antrópicos do Sambaqui da Fazenda Campos Novos - Cabo Frio - RJ.

Os sambaquis, que consistem de depósitos de materiais orgânicos, minerais e principalmente de conchas, são comuns em todo o litoral fluminense, apresentam uma estratigrafia de camadas bastante complexa e, entre estas camadas, apresentam horizontes escuros que são ricos em nutrientes e carbono orgânico. A susceptibilidade magnética (SM) é definida como o grau que uma substância pode ser magnetizada. No solo a SM é determinada pela mineralogia, quantidade e a forma dos minerais, que podem ser classificados, quanto à SM em diamagnéticos, paramagnéticos, ferromagnéticos, ferrimagnéticos e antiferromagnéticos. A determinação da SM é realizada pela aplicação de um campo magnético cujo equilíbrio resultante será dependendo da combinação dos minerais presentes no solo. A SM tem sido utilizada em diversos estudos como método fácil e barato para avaliar propriedades do solo de maior interesse por correlação. A SM apresenta também um grande potencial de uso na agricultura de precisão por ser uma propriedade possível de ser avaliada no campo e de forma rápida. Adicionalmente, estudos com grupos de arqueologia utilizam esta propriedade para caracterizar sítios arqueológicos, e a mesma se mostra bastante promissora para ser utilizada como parâmetro para determinação de horizontes antrópicos no Brasil. A Fazenda Campos Novos é um sítio histórico e arqueológico, cujo local pretende-se transformar num centro cultural e científico da região dos Lagos. Esse trabalho visa a contribuir com o conhecimento das características dos solos antrópicos no local. A avaliação da SM e dos teores totais foi feita no laboratório em amostras coletadas na Fazenda Campos Novos. Os resultados permitiram caracterizar as anomalias magnéticas na área do sambaqui e identificar altos teores de elementos totais em especial P e Ca pelas adições antrópicas

Caracterização dos principais ambientes pedológicos na Base de Operações Geólogo Pedro de Moura, Amazônia Central brasileira.

Trabalho apresentado no XVIII CLACS com o objetivo de, através de um número limitado de observações (perfis e tradagens) em combinação com uso de imagens de satélites e de radar, apresentar um mapa e uma legenda preliminar das principais classes de solos e de suas associações na área da Base de Operações Geólogo Pedro de Moura (BOGPM) no município de Coari na Amazônia Central brasileira, região de exploração de petróleo e gás na Amazônia

Estimativa de recarga da água subterrânea na ilha de São Luís-MA: análise de uma série temporal de 27 anos.

Os estudos de modelagem para avaliação da recarga dos aquíferos são essenciais à gestão dos recursos hídricos. A vulnerabilidade das águas subterrâneas constitui uma preocupação na ilha de São Luís (MA), onde a salinização pela intrusão da água do mar nos aquíferos pode estar associada à sobre extração de água subterrânea e redução dos níveis do aquífero em áreas costeiras em decorrência da excessiva perfuração de poços. Esse estudo objetivou estimar a recarga da água subterrânea na ilha de São Luís a partir da análise de uma série temporal de 1994 a 2020 com o uso do Hydrus-1D. Os resultados durante os 27 anos de simulação apresentaram uma taxa de recarga média de 1.333 mm/ano e uma taxa de recarga acumulada (cumulative bottom flux) de 36.000 mm. O balanço hídrico para os dois anos mais secos apresentou, respectivamente, taxas de recargas de 504 e 571 mm/ano e o mais chuvoso 2105 mm/ano

Relação solo-paisagem em florestas estacionais, região Norte de Minas Gerais.

As Matas Secas ou Florestas Estacionais Deciduais são pouco estudadas e conhecidas no Brasil. Neste estudo, objetivou-se estabelecer as relações entre os solos, a geologia, o relevo e a vegetação em uma área representativa das florestas estacionais em Minas Gerais: o Parque Estadual da Mata Seca (PEMS), situado no município de Manga, norte do estado. A seguinte relação solo-paisagem foi observada na área: os Latossolos Amarelos e Vermelho-Amarelos Distróficos, de textura média, sob vegetação de carrasco, ocupam as áreas de relevo plano relacionadas a coberturas terciárias originadas do retrabalhamento dos arenitos do Grupo Urucuia. Há uma faixa transicional entre esses domínios e aqueles exclusivamente relacionados às rochas pelítico-carbonáticas do Grupo Bambuí. A existência de eutrofismo associado à textura média em Latossolos Vermelho-Amarelos, Vermelhos, Chernossolos e Cambissolos (latossólicos), bem como a vegetação de Caatinga Arbórea Densa (de médio porte), são evidências do caráter transicional. As paisagens sob domínio das rochas pelítico-carbonáticas em que se desenvolve a Floresta Estacional Decidual Densa de alto porte (Mata Seca) são de maior extensão e complexidade na área. As seguintes subordens taxonômicas foram observadas nesse domínio fisiográfico: Cambissolos Háplicos, Latossolos Vermelhos e Vermelhos-Amarelos, Chernossolos Háplicos e Argilúvicos, Vertissolos Háplicos, Plintossolos Pétricos, Gleissolos Háplicos e Melânicos. Finalmente, nos depósitos quaternários do Rio São Francisco, em relevo plano e sob Floresta Estacional Semi-Decidual, foram identificados Cambissolos Flúvicos e Neossolos Flúvicos em condições de boa drenagem, enquanto os Gleissolos Háplicos relacionam-se a áreas sujeitas à inundação

Stent tunnel technique to save thrombosed native hemodialysis fistula with extensive venous aneurysm

Introduction and purpose: The increasing number of patients undergoing hemodialysis and the limited number of access sites have resulted in an increasing number of techniques to maintain vascular access for hemodialysis. Thrombosed arteriovenous (AV) fistulas with large venous aneurysms have poor treatment results, with both endovascular and surgical techniques, leading to a high rate of definitive AV access loss. The purpose of this study was to review the feasibility and initial results of this novel endovascular treatment of thrombosed AV fistulas with large venous aneurysms. Materials and methods: A novel endovascular treatment technique of inserting nitinol auto-expandable uncovered stents stretching through the whole puncture site area, thus creating a tunnel inside the thrombus, was retrospectively analyzed and described. Results: A total of 17 stents were placed in 10 hemodialysis fistulas, with a mean venous coverage length of 17.8 cm. In all the cases, 100% technical success was achieved, with complete restoration of blood flow in all patients. There were no procedure-related complications. The mean follow-up was 167 days (range 60–420 days), with a primary and assisted patency of 80% and 100%, respectively. No multiple trans-stent struts-related complications were observed. Three stent fractures were diagnosed with plain films at the site of puncture without consequence in the venous access permeability. Conclusion: The “stent tunnel technique” is a feasible, safe and effective alternative to salvage native hemodialysis access, thus extending the function of the venous access with no signs of stent-related complications and a respectable midterm patency

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Methanothermobacter themautotrophicus ΔH in Pure Culture and in Co-Culture with a Butyrate-Oxidizing Bacterium

To understand the physiological basis of methanogenic archaea living on interspecies H2 transfer, the protein expression of a hydrogenotrophic methanogen, Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus strain ΔH, was investigated in both pure culture and syntrophic coculture with an anaerobic butyrate oxidizer Syntrophothermus lipocalidus strain TGB-C1 as an H2 supplier. Comparative proteomic analysis showed that global protein expression of methanogen cells in the model coculture was substantially different from that of pure cultured cells. In brief, in syntrophic coculture, although methanogenesis-driven energy generation appeared to be maintained by shifting the pathway to the alternative methyl coenzyme M reductase isozyme I and cofactor F420-dependent process, the machinery proteins involved in carbon fixation, amino acid synthesis, and RNA/DNA metabolisms tended to be down-regulated, indicating restrained cell growth rather than vigorous proliferation. In addition, our proteome analysis revealed that α subunits of proteasome were differentially acetylated between the two culture conditions. Since the relevant modification has been suspected to regulate proteolytic activity of the proteasome, the global protein turnover rate could be controlled under syntrophic growth conditions. To our knowledge, the present study is the first report on N-acetylation of proteasome subunits in methanogenic archaea. These results clearly indicated that physiological adaptation of hydrogenotrophic methanogens to syntrophic growth is more complicated than that of hitherto proposed

Glucocorticoids with different chemical structures but similar glucocorticoid receptor potency regulate subsets of common and unique genes in human trabecular meshwork cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In addition to their well-documented ocular therapeutic effects, glucocorticoids (GCs) can cause sight-threatening side-effects including ocular hypertension presumably via morphological and biochemical changes in trabecular meshwork (TM) cells. In the present study, we directly compared the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) potency for dexamethasone (DEX), fluocinolone acetonide (FA) and triamcinolone acetonide (TA), examined the expression of known GRα and GRβ isoforms, and used gene expression microarrays to compare the effects of DEX, FA, and TA on the complete transcriptome in two primary human TM cell lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>GR binding affinity for DEX, FA, and TA was measured by a cell-free competitive radio-labeled GR binding assay. GR-mediated transcriptional activity was assessed using the GeneBLAzer beta-lactamase reporter gene assay. Levels of GRα and GRβ isoforms were assessed by Western blot. Total RNA was extracted from TM 86 and TM 93 cells treated with 1 μM DEX, FA, or TA for 24 hr and used for microarray gene expression analysis. The microarray experiments were repeated three times. Differentially expressed genes were identified by Rosetta Resolver Gene Expression Analysis System.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The GR binding affinity (IC₅₀) for DEX, FA, and TA was 5.4, 2.0, and 1.5 nM, respectively. These values are similar to the GR transactivation EC₅₀of 3.0, 0.7, and 1.5 nM for DEX, FA, and TA, respectively. All four GRα translational isoforms (A-D) were expressed in TM 86 and TM 93 total cell lysates, however, the C and D isoforms were more highly expressed relative to A and B. All four GRβ isoforms (A-D) were also detected in TM cells, although GRβ-D isoform expression was lower compared to that of the A, B, or C isoforms. Microarray analysis revealed 1,968 and 1,150 genes commonly regulated by DEX, FA, and TA in TM 86 and TM 93, respectively. These genes included RGC32, OCA2, ANGPTL7, MYOC, FKBP5, SAA1 and ZBTB16. In addition, each GC specifically regulated a unique set of genes in both TM cell lines. Using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software, analysis of the data from TM 86 cells showed that DEX significantly regulated transcripts associated with RNA post-transcriptional modifications, whereas FA and TA modulated genes involved in lipid metabolism and cell morphology, respectively. In TM 93 cells, DEX significantly regulated genes implicated in histone methylation, whereas FA and TA altered genes associated with cell cycle and cell adhesion, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Human trabecular meshwork cells in culture express all known GRα and GRβ translational isoforms, and GCs with similar potency but subtly different chemical structure are capable of regulating common and unique gene subsets and presumably biologic responses in these cells. These GC structure-dependent effects appear to be TM cell-lineage dependent.</p

Transcriptomes and expression profiling of deep-sea corals from the Red Sea provide insight into the biology of azooxanthellate corals

Despite the importance of deep-sea corals, our current understanding of their ecology and evolutionis limited due to difficulties in sampling and studying deep-sea environments. Moreover, a recent reevaluation of habitat limitations has been suggested after characterization of deep-sea corals in the Red Sea, where they live at temperatures of above 20 °C at low oxygen concentrations. To gain further insight into the biology of deep-sea corals, we produced reference transcriptomes and studied gene expression of three deep-sea coral species from the Red Sea, i.e. Dendrophyllia sp., Eguchipsammia fistula, and Rhizotrochus typus. Our analyses suggest that deep-sea coral employ mitochondrial hypometabolism and anaerobic glycolysis to manage low oxygen conditions present in the Red Sea. Notably, we found expression of genes related to surface cilia motion that presumably enhance small particle transport rates in the oligotrophic deep-sea environment. This is the first study to characterize transcriptomes and in situ gene expression for deep-sea corals. Our work offers several mechanisms by which deep-sea corals might cope with the distinct environmental conditions present in the Red Sea. As such, our data provides direction for future research and further insight to organismal response of deep sea coral to environmental change and ocean warming.Tis work was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), baseline funds to CRV and Center Competitive Funding (CCF) Program FCC/1/1973-18-01

HTLV-1 Tax Mediated Downregulation of miRNAs Associated with Chromatin Remodeling Factors in T Cells with Stably Integrated Viral Promoter

RNA interference (RNAi) is a natural cellular mechanism to silence gene expression and is predominantly mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) that target messenger RNA. Viruses can manipulate the cellular processes necessary for their replication by targeting the host RNAi machinery. This study explores the effect of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) transactivating protein Tax on the RNAi pathway in the context of a chromosomally integrated viral long terminal repeat (LTR) using a CD4+ T-cell line, Jurkat. Transcription factor profiling of the HTLV-1 LTR stably integrated T-cell clone transfected with Tax demonstrates increased activation of substrates and factors associated with chromatin remodeling complexes. Using a miRNA microarray and bioinformatics experimental approach, Tax was also shown to downregulate the expression of miRNAs associated with the translational regulation of factors required for chromatin remodeling. These observations were validated with selected miRNAs and an HTLV-1 infected T cells line, MT-2. miR-149 and miR-873 were found to be capable of directly targeting p300 and p/CAF, chromatin remodeling factors known to play critical role in HTLV-1 pathogenesis. Overall, these results are first in line establishing HTLV-1/Tax-miRNA-chromatin concept and open new avenues toward understanding retroviral latency and/or replication in a given cell type