Eutrophication, toxic cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins: when ecosystems cry for help

Eutrophication of freshwater resources has been studied worldwide and its consequences are of concern especially in waters used for recreation or drinking. The occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms is nowadays much better documented and among the major impacts we may point out the decrease in water transparency and oxygen levels, the production of off-flavours and the production of toxins. Among the most common toxins, microcystins, anatoxin-a and saxitoxins are the most common in Portugal. A diversity of microcystins has been identified so far but microcystin-LR is the most common. Many aquatic organisms are capable to resist certain levels of cyanotoxins making them vectors for toxins. We analysed this possibility using a diversity of cyanotoxins and organisms and found that microcystins and bivalves seem to be the combination that maximizes toxin transfer. New challenges are presented today in this research area, by using new and more sensitive chemical, biochemical and molecular techniques. This allows us to better understand these organisms that can produce both potent toxins and innovative drugs.La eutrofización de las aguas dulces ha sido estudiada por todo el mundo y sus consecuencias son una preocupación en aguas utilizadas para ocio o para beber. La ocurrencia de florecimientos de cianobacterias esta hoy mucho mejor documentada y entre los impactos más grandes podemos destacar la disminución de la transparencia del agua y de los niveles de oxigeno disuelto, la producción de olores y sabores y de toxinas. De entre las toxinas más comunes, las microcistinas, anatoxina-a y saxitoxinas son las más comunes en Portugal. Hasta ahora identificamos una gran diversidad de microcistinas pero la microcistina-LR es la más común. Muchos organismos acuáticos pueden resistir a ciertos niveles de cianotoxinas, haciendo que sean vectores de toxinas. Analizamos esta posibilidad utilizando una diversidad de cyanotoxinas y de organismos y encontramos que las microcistinas y los bivalvos parecen ser la combinación que maximiza la transferencia de toxinas. Hoy se nos presentan nuevos desafíos en esta área de investigación, utilizando técnicas químicas, bioquímicas y moleculares nuevas y más sensibles. Esto nos permite entender mejor estos organismos que pueden producir potentes toxinas y nueva drogas

Seasonal variation of metal contamination in the barnacles Pollicipes pollicipes in northwest coast of Portugal show clear correlation with levels in the surrounding water

The concentrations of metals were determined in northwest (NW) coast of Portugal seawaters and soft tissues of goose barnacles Pollicipes pollicipes. P. pollicipes can be used for monitoring metal contamination in these coastal seawaters, because there were significant correlations (p < 0.05) for all metals between soft tissues and seawaters during the four seasons. Metal concentrations in seawaters and P. pollicipes had significant (p < 0.05) spatial and seasonal variations and mean log BAFs for Fe and Cd were higher than for Cr, Cu, Mn and Zn. Regarding the metal concentrations obtained in the coastal seawaters, all NW coast of Portugal should be classified as "Class IV - Bad", except two locations (location 7 at Summer and location 10 at Winter), which should be classified as "Class III - Moderate". However, considering the metal concentrations bioaccumulated in P. pollicipes, all locations should be classified as "Class III - Remarkably Polluted" during all seasons of 2011

Applicability of the real-time PCR assay in the amplification of cyanobacterial DNA from preserved samples

Publicaciones del III Congreso Ibérico de Cianotoxinas (Blanes, 2013)The study and monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms often involves the use of preserved samples to avoid cellular degradation. However, preserved samples may not be suitable for molecular biology studies because preservation methods can interfere with DNA quality/quantity. Real-time quantitative PCR analysis (qPCR) has been widely applied in molecular analysis and is considered a promising method for monitoring purposes. This study intended to evaluate the applicability of the real-time qPCR technique in samples that were subjected to different methods of preservation: (1) 15% Lugol’s iodine solution (2) 4% formaldehyde and (3) 25% glutaraldehyde. The ability to amplify and quantify DNA extracted from Planktothrix agardhii was assessed using the rpoC1 gene as the target fragment in both raw water samples and in vitro cultures. No reliable DNA amplification was obtained from glutaraldehyde-preserved samples. Successful amplification was obtained from Lugol’s and formaldehyde-preserved samples. In this case, however, the quantification that was achieved by real-time PCR cannot be used to infer cell numbers, because the Ct values that were obtained from the Lugol’s and formaldehydepreserved samples were significantly higher than the Ct values that were obtained from the unpreserved samples. Therefore real-time PCR can be used for the detection and identification of cyanobacteria in preserved samples but no reliable cell quantification can be performed using this method.This research was supported by the Fundação para Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (FCT) through the project PPCDT/AMB/67075/2006. The authors also acknowledge the PhD research grant SFRH/BD65706/2009 to C. Churro and the Post-Doc research grant SFRH/BPD/75922/2011 to E. Valério

Ecologia, ?tica e Economia.

Discute-se um modo para reconhecer alguns fundamentos para o sentido e a pr?tica ?ticas em rela??o a alguns referenciais que possam ser provados pelos seus significados intr?nsecos no que diz respeito ? Natureza e aos processos econ?micos. Como fim, busca-se entender o que deve ser uma abordagem que integre Ecologia e Economia sob a ?gide de uma perspectiva ?tica para proposi??es de desenvolvimento ecossustent?vel.The discussion is about a mode for recognizing some fundaments to the significance and the practice of ethics, which may be proved true by their own intrinsic significance so far Nature and the economic processes are concerned. As a goal we look for understanding what can be an approach for integrating ecology and economy within an ethical perspective with the aim of proposing an eco-sustainable development

Mapa de estratificação de altitude para vegetação no Brasil

Alexander Von Humboldt propôs uma estratificação da vegetação por critérios de altitude e latitude na América do Sul. Esses critérios foram adotados pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE – para classificação da vegetação brasileira. Apresenta-se, no presente estudo, um mapa com essa estratificação para o território brasileiro. Discutem-se, ainda, as implicações desse mapa para a identificação dos campos de altitude e sua proteção pela Lei Federal nº 11.428, de 2006 – Lei da Mata Atlântica. Para tanto, os ambientes montanos e altomontanos do Brasil são analisados em relação às suas unidades de relevo e a seu papel como refúgios ecológicos

Controle de protocolo georreferenciado

Apresenta-se um protótipo de sistema de protocolo que incorpora o georreferenciamento (especificidade espacial) de cada processo. O sistema foi desenvolvido conciliando programação lógica, operações de banco de dados e vinculação com sistema de informação geográfica. O sistema proporcionou melhor planejamento gerencial, com ganhos de eficiência nas atividades executadas. A partir do caso apresentado, discute-se sobre as estratégias espacialização e especialização do conhecimento profissional. Também são apresentadas as possibilidades de integração das tecnologias de geoprocessamento aos sistemas públicos de protocolo. Palavras-chave Protocolo. Sistemas de informação geográfica. Sistemas de informação. Geoprocessamento. Georeferencing protocol control Abstract A protocol system prototype is presented, using georeferencing attributes for each process. The system was built using logic programming, database operations and geographic information system. The use of the system resulted in a better management, with efficiency improvement in the executed activities. Through the discussion on the case study, the spatialization and specialization strategies for professional knowledge have been evaluated. Concluding, the possibilities of integrating the geoprocessing technologies in the public protocol systems are discussed. Keywords Protocol. Geographic information systems. Information systems. Geoprocessing

Evaluation of DoS attacks on Commercial Wi-Fi-Based UAVs

One of the biggest challenges for the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in large-scale real-world applications is security.  However, most of research projects related to robotics does not discuss security issues, moving on directly to studying classical problems (i.e., perception, control, planning). This paper evaluates the effects of availability issues (Denial of Service attacks) in two commonly used commercially available UAVs (AR.Drone 2.0 and 3DR SOLO). Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are made while the vehicles are navigating, simulating common conditions found both by the general public and in a research scenario. Experiments show how effective such attacks are and demonstrate actual security breaches that create specific vulnerabilities. The results indicate that both studied UAVs are susceptible to several types of DoS attacks which can critically influence the performance of UAVs during navigation, including a decrease in camera functionality, drops in telemetry feedback and lack of response to remote control commands. We also present a tool that can be used as a failsafe mechanism to alert the user when a drone is reaching out a determined flight limit range, avoiding availability issues

Revealing the potential of cyanobacteria in cosmetics and cosmeceuticals — A new bioactive approach

The growing concern over appearance, health and aging has driven the exploration for cosmetics based on natural sources. Alongside with plants, algae and eukaryotic microalgae, cyanobacteria have been explored for the isolation of compounds with potential application in the cosmetic and cosmeceutical field. The long evolutionary history of cyanobacteria and exposure to environmental stress conditions seems to be the basis for the production of compounds with protective roles against external factors, such as desiccation, UV radiation and salinity. The production of exopolysaccharides, UV-protectors such as mycrosporine like amino acids and scytonemin, and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds, by a wide range of cyanobacteria genera, coupled with a growing demand for natural origin products, places these organisms in the investigation line linked to cosmetics. The low nutritional requirements for large scale culture and the possibility to increase compounds production by manipulating culture conditions, also highlights the importance of these organisms as an alternative and a promising source for cosmetics based on nature. In this review, a general overview of the state of the art regarding the potential of cyanobacteria for the cosmetic and cosmeceutical industry is provided, emphasizing the main properties required in skin care formulations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Detection of a Planktothrix agardhii Bloom in Portuguese Marine Coastal Waters

Cyanobacteria blooms are frequent in freshwaters and are responsible for water quality deterioration and human intoxication. Although, not a new phenomenon, concern exists on the increasing persistence, scale, and toxicity of these blooms. There is evidence, in recent years, of the transfer of these toxins from inland to marine waters through freshwater outflow. However, the true impact of these blooms in marine habitats has been overlooked. In the present work, we describe the detection of Planktothrix agardhii, which is a common microcystin producer, in the Portuguese marine coastal waters nearby a river outfall in an area used for shellfish harvesting and recreational activities. P. agardhii was first observed in November of 2016 in seawater samples that are in the scope of the national shellfish monitoring system. This occurrence was followed closely between November and December of 2016 by a weekly sampling of mussels and water from the sea pier and adjacent river mouth with salinity ranging from 35 to 3. High cell densities were found in the water from both sea pier and river outfall, reaching concentrations of 4,960,608 cellsL(-1) and 6810.3 x 10(6) cellsL(-1) respectively. Cultures were also established with success from the environment and microplate salinity growth assays showed that the isolates grew at salinity 10. HPLC-PDA analysis of total microcystin content in mussel tissue, water biomass, and P. agardhii cultures did not retrieve a positive result. In addition, microcystin related genes were not detected in the water nor cultures. So, the P. agardhii present in the environment was probably a non-toxic strain. This is, to our knowledge, the first report on a P. agardhii bloom reaching the sea and points to the relevance to also monitoring freshwater harmful phytoplankton and related toxins in seafood harvesting and recreational coastal areas, particularly under the influence of river plumes.project SNMB-INOV: Innovation for a more competitive shellfish sector - Portuguese Government, Operational Program (OP), Portugal; European Union through European Structural Funds and Investment Funds (FEEI); European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF); Centre of Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve and Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR) of the University of Porto [UID/Multi/04326/2013]; RD Units Strategic Plan from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [UID/Multi/04423/2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio