ESPECTROSCOPIA COM NOVAS TECNOLOGIAS: O TRACKER COMO FERRAMENTA

The technologies used by computers for image analysis, whether for videos or photographs, have developed widely in science, engineering and sports and have become accessible to basic education in the last 10 years. The software “TRACKER” has proven to be very versatile and offers good tools for working with videos in the classroom. In this work we show how to use the software in the analysis of photos of spectrum of lamps obtained by a homemade spectroscope. As a methodological proposal, we show that it is possible to insert this work using a Creative Learning dynamic and through the “Maker Culture”, which brings out more interest from students.As tecnologias para análise de imagens, seja vídeo ou foto, usando o computador, desenvolveram-se bastante na ciência aplicada, engenharias e no esporte e tornaram-se acessíveis à educação básica nos últimos 10 anos. O software TRACKER tem se mostrado muito versátil e oferece boas ferramentas para o trabalho com vídeos em sala de aula. Neste trabalho mostramos como usar o software em análise de fotos de espectros de lâmpadas obtidos por um espectroscópio caseiro. Enquanto proposta metodológica, mostramos que é possível inserir este trabalho numa dinâmica de Aprendizagem Criativa e interdisciplinar através da Cultura Maker, que propicia maior interesse por parte dos alunos

Cadmium effects on net N2O production by the deep-sea isolate Shewanella loihica PV-4

Deep-sea mining may lead to the release of high concentrations of metals into the surrounding seabed, which can disturb important ecosystem functions provided by microbial communities. Among these, the production of N2O and its reduction to N2 is of great relevance since N2O is an important greenhouse gas. Metal impacts on net N2O production by deep-sea bacteria are, however, currently unexplored. Here, we evaluated the effects of cadmium (Cd) on net N2O production by a deep-sea isolate, Shewanella loihica PV-4. We performed a series of Cd exposure incubations in oxic conditions and determined N2O fluxes during induced anoxic conditions, as well as the relative expression of the nitrite reductase gene (nirK), preceding N2O production, and N2O reductase gene (nosZ), responsible for N2O reduction. Net N2O production by S. loihica PV-4 exposed to Cd was strongly inhibited when compared to the control treatment (no metal). Both nirK and nosZ gene expression were inhibited in reactors with Cd, but nirK inhibition was stronger, supporting the lower net N2O production observed with Cd. The Cd inhibition of net N2O production observed in this study poses the question whether other deep-sea bacteria would undergo the same effects. Future studies should address this question as well as its applicability to complex communities and other physicochemical conditions, which remain to be evaluated.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potential of an estuarine salt marsh plant (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud10751) for phytoremediation of bezafibrate and paroxetine

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of a salt marsh plant and its rhizosphere microorganisms for the removal of two pharmaceutical compounds, bezafibrate and paroxetine, from estuarine environment. Plants were exposed for 7 days to a simplified estuarine medium, elutriate solution with or without sediment, doped with bezafibrate or paroxetine. Tests were done in absence and presence of nutrients or copper. Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud, alone or with the sediment microbial communities, contributed for pharmaceuticals removal. In the presence of P. australis, for paroxetine a 65% removal was observed. Removal increased up to 90% when sediment was present. For bezafibrate, removals reached ca. 47% in P. australis presence, increasing to ca. 70% when nutrients were added to the medium, indicating a good nutritional state can contribute for a higher compound removal. When Cu was added, 75% removal for bezafibrate and 95% removal for paroxetine were observed indicating the metal might influence the removal of the pharmaceuticals. Overall, the plant and its rhizosediments and associated microorganisms showed potential for pharmaceuticals removal from estuaries, eventually degrading the selected compounds, a feature requiring more research. Results indicate that phytoremediation could be a viable option for eliminating/diminishinginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of Constructed Wetlands’ Potential for the Removal of Cyanobacteria and Microcystins (MC-LR)

Microcystis blooms and the subsequent release of hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) pose a serious threat to the safety of water for human and livestock consumption, agriculture irrigation, and aquaculture worldwide. Microcystin-LR (MC-LR), the most toxic variant of MCs, has been widely detected in a variety of environments such as water, sediments, plants, and many aquatic organisms.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MarinEye - A tool for marine monitoring

This work presents an autonomous system for marine integrated physical-chemical and biological monitoring – the MarinEye system. It comprises a set of sensors providing diverse and relevant information for oceanic environment characterization and marine biology studies. It is constituted by a physicalchemical water properties sensor suite, a water filtration and sampling system for DNA collection, a plankton imaging system and biomass assessment acoustic system. The MarinEye system has onboard computational and logging capabilities allowing it either for autonomous operation or for integration in other marine observing systems (such as Observatories or robotic vehicles. It was designed in order to collect integrated multi-trophic monitoring data. The validation in operational environment on 3 marine observatories: RAIA, BerlengasWatch and Cascais on the coast of Portugal is also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Citotoxicity and immune response induced by organopalladium(II) compounds in mice bearing Ehrlich ascites tumour

Cyclometallated palladium(II) complexes are reactive inorganic compounds employed in several biological studies because of their antitumour potential and interaction with immune system. In the present study, the immune and citotoxic response induced by two organopalladated complexes: [{Pd(N,C-dmba)} 2(μ-NCS) 2] (1), [Pd(C-dmba)(NCS)(dppp)] (2) [dmba = N,N′-dimethylbenzylamine, dppp = 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane] and cisplatin (cis-DDP), as standard, were investigated in mice bearing Ehrlich ascites tumour. The mice were divided into five groups and inoculated with the compounds (1) or (2) or cisplatin, or only vehicle or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Many parameters were evaluated, such as tumour cell percentage in the peritoneal exsudate, levels of seric nitric oxide (NO) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and increase in life span. Analysis of all data revealed, for compound (2), an activity similar to that presented by cisplatin, resulting in increased life span, lower levels of seric TNF-α and increase in NO production. ©2007 Sociedade Brasileira de Química

Clinical and molecular description of a high-copy IncQ1 KPC-2 plasmid harbored by the international ST15 Klebsiella pneumoniae clone

This study provides the genomic characterization and clinical description of bloodstream infections (BSI) cases due to ST15 KPC-2 producer Klebsiella pneumoniae. Six KPC-K. pneumoniae isolates were recovered in 2015 in a tertiary Brazilian hospital and were analyzed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) (Illumina MiSeq short reads). Of these, two isolates were further analyzed by Nanopore MinION sequencing, allowing complete chromosome and plasmid circularization (hybrid assembly), using Unicycler software. The clinical analysis showed that the 30-day overall mortality for these BSI cases was high (83%). The isolates exhibited meropenem resistance (MICs, 32 to 128 mg/liter), with 3/6 isolates resistant to polymyxin B. The conjugative properties of the blaKPC-2 plasmid and its copy number were assessed by standard conjugation experiments and sequence copy number analysis. We identified in all six isolates a small (8.3-kb), high-copy-number (20 copies/cell) non-self-conjugative IncQ plasmid harboring blaKPC-2 in a non-Tn4401 transposon. This plasmid backbone was previously reported to harbor blaKPC-2 only in Brazil, and it could be comobilized at a high frequency (10−4) into Escherichia coli J53 and into several high-risk K. pneumoniae clones (ST258, ST15, and ST101) by a common IncL/M helper plasmid, suggesting the potential of international spread. This study thus identified the international K. pneumoniae ST15 clone as a carrier of blaKPC-2 in a high-copy-number IncQ1 plasmid that is easily transmissible among other common Klebsiella strains. This finding is of concern since IncQ1 plasmids are efficient antimicrobial resistance determinant carriers across Gram-negative species. The spread of such carbapenemase-encoding IncQ1 plasmids should therefore be closely monitored. IMPORTANCE In many parts of the world, carbapenem resistance is a serious public health concern. In Brazil, carbapenem resistance in Enterobacterales is mostly driven by the dissemination of KPC-2-producing K. pneumoniae clones. Despite being endemic in this country, only a few reports providing both clinical and genomic data are available in Brazil, which limit the understanding of the real clinical impact caused by the dissemination of different clones carrying blaKPC-2 in Brazilian hospitals. Although several of these KPC-2-producer K. pneumoniae isolates belong to the clonal complex 258 and carry Tn4401 transposons located on large plasmids, a concomitant emergence and silent dissemination of small high-copy-number blaKPC-2 plasmids are of importance, as described in this study. Our data identify a small high-copy-number IncQ1 KPC plasmid, its clinical relevance, and the potential for conjugative transfer into several K. pneumoniae isolates, belonging to different international lineages, such as ST258, ST101, and ST15