Level of nitrate in lettuce as a result of fertilization, harvesting time and storage period

O experimento foi conduzido na Fazenda Água Limpa, UnB em Brasília, de janeiro a março de 2004, com o objetivo de avaliar o acúmulo de nitrato em alface, cv. Verônica, sob cultivo protegido, em função da adubação, horário de colheita e tempo de armazenamento (8ºC). O delineamento experimental foi de blocos ao acaso, em esquema fatorial 5 x 4 x 4, em quatro repetições. Os cinco tratamentos de adubação foram: 1,5 kg m-2 de cama-de-frango (T1); 3,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino (T2); mineral, de acordo com a análise química do solo - M (T3); M acrescida de 1,5 kg m-2 de cama-de-frango (T4) e M acrescida de 3,0 kg m-2 de esterco bovino (T5). Os horários de colheita foram 7; 11; 15 e 18 horas, e os períodos de armazenamento foram 0; 3; 5 e 7 dias. Os tratamentos T1 e T4 resultaram em plantas com os maiores teores de nitrato foliar, 1240,12 e 1303,66 mg NaNO3 kg-1, respectivamente; enquanto T2 resultou no menor acúmulo de nitrato, 547,26 mg NaNO3 kg-1. Porém, quando o esterco bovino foi associado ao adubo mineral (T5), ocorreu um aumento de 2,18 vezes no teor de nitrato foliar (1195,25 mg NaNO3 kg-1). Plantas colhidas às 7 horas apresentaram os menores teores de nitrato, sugerindo ser este o melhor horário para colheita da alface no Distrito Federal. O armazenamento proporcionou uma redução de 29,3% no teor de nitrato ao longo de 7 dias. ________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe experiment was carried out in Brasilia, Brazil, from January to March 2004, aiming to evaluate the level of nitrate in lettuce, cv. Veronica, as a result of fertilization, harvesting time and storage period (8ºC). We used the ramdomized blocks experimental design in a factorial 5 x 4 x 4, with four replicates. The five fertilization treatments tested were: 1,5 kg m-2 of chicken manure (T1); 3,0 kg m-2 of cattle manure (T2); mineral, as a result of soil chemical analysis - M (T3); M with 1,5 kg m-2 of chicken manure (T4); and M with 3,0 kg m-2 of cattle manure (T5). The harvesting times were 7 and 11 a.m., and 3 and 6 p.m. The storage periods were 0; 3; 5 and 7 days. The treatments T1 and T4 resulted in plants with the highest levels of nitrate, 1240,12 and 1303,66 mg NaNO3 kg-1, respectivelly, while T2 resulted in the lowest nitrate level, 547,26 mg NaNO3 kg-1. However, when cattle manure was added to M (T5), an increase of 2,18 times was observed in the nitrate level (1195,25 mg NaNO3 kg-1). Plants harvested at 7 a.m. showed the lowest levels of nitrate, suggesting that it is the best moment to harvest lettuce in the Distrito Federal region. During the storage period of seven days, nitrate level was reduced by 29,3%

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O 6º objetivo da agenda dos ODS da ONU: Debates sobre água segura y saneamento básico universalizado.

El proyecto de Trabajo Comunal Universitario (TCU) No. 540: Procesos pedagógicos y didácticos para la enseñanza de los derechos humanos y la convivencia pacífica, coordinado por la Dra. Marcela Moreno Buján, con la cooperación académica del proyecto de extensión docente Grupo de Pesquisa Derecho y Sustentabilidad (GPDS), coordinado por el Dr. Carlos Peralta Montero, han unido esfuerzos para organizar y publicar la Colección “Comunidad Académica y COVID 19”. Esta colección, conformada por tres volúmenes, forma parte de la sistematización de experiencias relacionadas con las temáticas abordadas por el TCU No. 540 y el GPDS. Este volumen está compuesto por doce capítulos, desarrollados por veintiocho académicos costarricenses, brasileños y colombianos donde se reflexiona de manera interdisciplinaria sobre el sexto objetivo de la agenda de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) de la ONU en el contexto de pandemia actual.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Acción Social::Trabajo Comunal Universitario (TCU

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Contribuições para melhoria de qualidade de grãos de café produzidos na Colômbia : caracterização da diversidade microbiana do processamento pós-colheita por sequenciamento de nova geração

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Gilberto Vinícius de Melo PereiraDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Tecnologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Bioprocessos e Biotecnologia. Defesa : Curitiba, 19/12/2018Inclui referênciasResumo: O cafe e uma das bebidas mais populares no mundo, com um consumo anual estimado em 500 bilhoes de xicaras. Devido a este crescente mercado, a necessidade em se produzir graos com caracteristicas aromaticas distintas e sabores agradaveis fez com que as praticas associadas aos processos pos-colheita realizados nas fazendas cafeeiras recebam maior atencao. Previamente as etapas de comercializacao e exportacao, as cerejas de cafe passam pelo processo de remocao das camadas que envolvem os frutos para reduzir a umidade presente nos graos. Para isto, tres processos pos-colheita sao utilizados, denominados como via umida, via seca e via semisseca. Durante o processamento das cerejas de cafe, uma rica diversidade microbiana esta associada as diferentes etapas do processamento, como por exemplo, sao responsaveis pela fermentacao da camada mucilaginosa na via umida. Durante a fermentacao, ocorre a geracao de metabolitos microbianos que poderao impactar no sabor e aroma do cafe, na inibicao de fungos filamentosos, bem como no auxilio da remocao da mucilagem pela quebra da pectina. Neste intuito, a primeira parte deste estudo avaliou as comunidades microbiana presentes em fermentacoes de cafe na Colombia por sequenciamento de nova geracao. A plataforma Illumina foi utilizada para investigar as comunidades de eucariotos e procariotos presentes durante a fermentacao espontanea de graos de cafe na Colombia. Alem disso, os compostos gerados pelo metabolismo microbiano foram avaliados por cromatografia gasosa (GC), cromatografia gasosa acoplada a espectrofotometro de massa (GC-MS), e por cromatografia liquida de alta performance (CLAE). Destaca-se a elevada diversidade microbiana encontrada, sendo identificados mais de 160 generos bacterianos, na qual houve uma relevante dominancia de bacterias acido lacticas (BAL), representada pelos generos Leuconostoc e Lactobacillus. A diversidade de eucariotos apresentou ser mais homogenea, com Pichia nakasei sendo dominante durante todo o processo de fermentacao. O acido lactico e acetaldeido foram os principais metabolitos gerados por BAL e Pichia, respectivamente. Particularmente, 56 generos microbianos foram detectados pela primeira vez na fermentacao do cafe, e podem ser associados ao solo local, agua do mar, plantas, insetos e ao contato humano. Os compostos volateis identificados compoem os grupos quimicos de alcoois, acidos organicos, aldeidos, esteres, terpenos, fenois e hidrocarbonetos. Este estudo e pioneiro na descricao da microbiota do cafe Colombiano, ademais, na utilizacao de tecnicas de sequenciamento de nova geracao em fermentacao de cafe. Na segunda etapa, objetivou-se isolar e selecionar bacterias do acido latico em fermentacao de cafe em laboratorio e avaliar sua habilidade em fermentar a frutose. Para isto, a fermentacao de cafe foi conduzida em biorreator durante 30 h, onde amostras da fracao liquida foram retiradas, diluidas serialmente e plaqueadas em meio seletivo. Apos purificacao por plaqueamentos sucessivos, os isolados foram testados quanto a fermentacao de frutose, avaliando o consumo por metodo colorimetrico. A identificacao molecular foi realizada atraves do sequenciamento do gene 16S rRNA. Ao total de 34 isolados, dos quais 11 foram identificados como Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus sp. e Pediococcus pentosaceus. Quanto a fermentacao de frutose, os isolados apresentaram perfis fermentativos distintos. Com isto, sugerimos que estudos posteriores sejam executados para investigar se ha ou nao o perfil de bacteria frutofilica dentre os isoladosAbstract: Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world with an estimated annual consumption of 500 billion cups. Due to this growing market, the need to produce beans with distinct aromatic characteristics and pleasant flavors made that practices associated with the post-harvest processes carried out on-farms receive more attention. Previously to commercialization and exportation, the coffee cherries must undergo the process of removing the outer layers that covers the coffe cherries to reduce the moisture contente present in the coffee cherries. For this, three post-harvest processes are used, named wet, dry and semi-dry. During the processing of coffee cherries, a rich microbial diversity is associated with the different stages of processing, for example, they are responsible for the fermentation of the mucilaginous layer in the wet processing. During the fermentation, there is a generation of microbial metabolites, which may impact coffee flavor and aroma, inhibition of filamentous fungi, as well as ainds on the mucilage removal by pectin metabolization. In that order, the first part of this study evaluated the microbial communities present in coffee fermentation in Colombia by next-generation sequencing. The Illumina platform was used to investigate the communities of eukaryotes and prokaryotes present during the spontaneous fermentation of coffee beans in Colombia. In addition, the compounds generated by microbial metabolic activity were evaluated by gas chromatography (GC), gas chromatography coupled to the mass spectrometer (GC-MS), and by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It is important to highlight that a high microbial diversity was found, with more than 160 bacterial genera, in which there was a significant dominance of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), represented by the genera Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus. The diversity of eukaryotes was more homogeneous, with Pichia nakasei as the dominant specie throughout the fermentation process. Lactic acid and acetaldehyde were the major metabolites generated by LAB and Pichia, respectively. In particular, 56 microbial genera were detected for the first time in coffee fermentation, and can be related to the local soil, sea water, plants, insects and human contact. The identified volatile compounds are from the chemical groups of alcohols, organic acids, aldehydes, esters, terpenes, phenols and hydrocarbons. This study is a pioneer in the description of the Colombian coffee microbiota, in addition, the use of next-generation sequencing techniques in coffee fermentation. In the second stage, the objective was to isolate and select lactic acid bacteria in coffee fermentation perfomed in laboratory and to evaluate their ability to ferment fructose. For this purpose, coffee fermentation was conducted in a bioreactor for 30 h, where samples of the liquid fraction were taken, then serially diluted and plated in a selective medium. After purification by successive plating, the isolates were tested for fructose fermentation, and evaluated the consumption of fructose by colorimetric method. Molecular identification was performed by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. A total of 34 isolates were identified, of which 11 were identified as Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus sp. and Pediococcus pentosaceus. Regarding the fermentation of fructose, the isolates showed different fermentation profiles. Therefore, we suggest that further studies be carried out to investigate whether or not there is a profile of fructophilic bacteria among the isolate

Loss of a Functional Mitochondrial Pyruvate Carrier in <i>Komagataella phaffii</i> Does Not Improve Lactic Acid Production from Glycerol in Aerobic Cultivation

Cytosolic pyruvate is an essential metabolite in lactic acid production during microbial fermentation. However, under aerobiosis, pyruvate is transported to the mitochondrial matrix by the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) and oxidized in cell respiration. Previous reports using Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Aspergillus oryzae have shown that the production of pyruvate-derived chemicals is improved by deleting the MPC1 gene. A previous lactate-producing K. phaffii strain engineered by our group was used as a host for the deletion of the MPC1 gene. In addition, the expression of a bacterial hemoglobin gene under the alcohol dehydrogenase 2 promoter from Scheffersomyces stipitis, known to work as a hypoxia sensor, was used to evaluate whether aeration would supply enough oxygen to meet the metabolic needs during lactic acid production. However, unlike S. cerevisiae and A. oryzae, the deletion of Mpc1 had no significant impact on lactic acid production but negatively affected cell growth in K. phaffii strains. Furthermore, the relative quantification of the VHb gene revealed that the expression of hemoglobin was detected even in aerobic cultivation, which indicates that the demand for oxygen in the bioreactor could result in functional hypoxia. Overall, the results add to our previously published ones and show that blocking cell respiration using hypoxia is more suitable than deleting Mpc for producing lactic acid in K. phaffii

The β-blocker carvedilol and the benznidazole modulate the cardiac immune response in the acute infection induced by Colombian strain of the Trypanosoma cruzi

BACKGROUND The infection led by Trypanosoma cruzi persists in mammalian tissues causing an inflammatory imbalance. Carvedilol (Cv), a non-selective beta blocker drug indicated to treat heart failure and antihypertensive has shown to promote antioxidant and immunomodulatory properties which might improve the inflammation induced by T. cruzi. OBJECTIVES Evaluate the role of Cv on the inflammatory response of C57BL/6 mice acutely infected with the Colombian strain of T. cruzi. METHODS Animals were infected with the Colombian strain of T. cruzi and treated with Cv (25 mg/kg/day), benznidazole (Bz) (100 mg/kg/day) or their combination. On the 28th day of infection and 23 days of treatment, the euthanasia occurred, and the heart preserved for histopathological, oxidative stress (SOD, catalase, TBARs, carbonylated proteins) and plasma (CCL2, CCL5, TNF, IL-10) analyses. Parasitaemia and survival were assessed along the infection. FINDINGS Cv decreased TBARs, but increased the mortality rate, the parasitaemia and the levels of CCL2, CCL5, catalase and the inflammatory infiltrate in the cardiac tissue. Bz led the reduction of the inflammatory infiltrate and circulating levels of oxidative stress and inflammatory mediators in the infected mice. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our data suggest that Cv, in this experimental model using the Colombian strain of T. cruzi, caused damage to the host

I Ciclo de palestras sobre doenças raras:: um relato de experiência

INTRODUCTION: The National Policy for Care of People with Rare Diseases was created in 2014, aiming to establish comprehensive care for patients with rare diseases. However, the implementation of this policy is hampered by the great lack of information on the subject at a national level, which affects both doctors and students, as well as the families of these individuals. Therefore, the objective of this report is to describe the experiences provided by the creation of a cycle of lectures on rare diseases which targets to expand the knowledge of the general population on the subject. EXPERIENCE REPORT: The idea for the “1° Cycle of Lectures on Rare Diseases: an academic, social and human approach” was developed during a process of affiliation of two students to a local committee of IFMSA Brazil and, after the admission of the creators, eight coordinators were selected to implement the initiative. Registrations were made via Google Forms and dissemination via Instagram, WhatsApp, and the television program “Manhã Total”. The event was held on YouTube, on July 21 and 22, 2022, obtaining more than 1,400 views. DISCUSSION: The listeners were very satisfied with the lectures, especially with the opening of the speakers to clarify doubts, both from students and parents who have children with rare diseases. By comparing the responses collected between the registration form and the attendance forms, it was possible to verify an advance in knowledge about rare diseases after the lectures. CONCLUSION: The lecture cycle fulfilled its objective of expanding the population's knowledge about rare diseases, making it accessible, informative, and with room for clarifying doubts, even for people who deal with these diseases on a daily basis. Therefore, we can see the importance of promoting similar activities in order to popularize knowledge about this topic that is so relevant in society. Keywords: Rare Diseases; Health Promotion; Public Health.INTRODUÇÃO:  A Política Nacional de Atenção às Pessoas com Doenças Raras foi criada em 2014 para estabelecer o atendimento integral aos portadores de doenças raras. No entanto, a efetivação dessa política é dificultada pela grande desinformação sobre a temática em nível nacional, que afeta tanto médicos e estudantes quanto as próprias famílias desses indivíduos. Portanto, o objetivo deste relato é descrever as experiências proporcionadas pela criação de um ciclo de palestras sobre doenças raras que visava ampliar os conhecimentos da população em geral sobre o tema. RELATO: A ideia para o “I Ciclo de Palestras sobre Doenças Raras: uma abordagem acadêmica, social e humana” foi desenvolvida durante um processo de filiação de duas estudantes a um comitê local da IFMSA Brazil e, após o ingresso das idealizadoras, ocorreu a seleção de oito coordenadores para efetivá-la. As inscrições foram realizadas via Google Formulários e a divulgação via Instagram, WhatsApp e pelo programa televisivo “Manhã Total”. O evento foi realizado pelo YouTube, nos dias 21 e 22 de julho de 2022, obtendo mais de 1.400 visualizações. DISCUSSÃO: Observou-se grande satisfação dos ouvintes com as palestras, especialmente pela abertura dos palestrantes convidados para esclarecer dúvidas, tanto de estudantes quanto de pais que têm filhos portadores de doenças raras. Por meio da comparação das respostas colhidas entre o formulário de inscrição e os formulários de presença foi possível verificar um avanço do conhecimento sobre as doenças raras após as palestras. CONCLUSÃO: O ciclo de palestras cumpriu o seu objetivo de expandir o conhecimento da população acerca das doenças raras, fazendo-o de forma acessível, informativa e com espaço para esclarecimento de dúvidas até para pessoas que lidam com essas doenças cotidianamente. Logo, percebe-se a importância da promoção de atividades semelhantes a fim de popularizar o conhecimento acerca dessa temática tão relevante na sociedade