An overview of vinasse pollution in aquatic ecosystems in Brazil.

We review the negative impacts of vinasse, a byproduct of alcohol distillation, on Brazil's freshwater ecosystems. We found a total of 37 pollution events between the years 1935 and 2023, with this number almost certainly an underestimate due to underreporting and/or unassessed events. Pollution by vinasse occurred both through accidents (e.g., tank failure) and deliberately (i.e., opening of floodgates), although in many cases the causes remain undetermined. All pollution events caused fish kills, with some records reporting negative effects on other organisms as well (i.e., crustaceans and reptiles). Pollution by vinasse, and associated negative effects, was reported for 11 states, with a notable number of cases in São Paulo. Most cases of vinasse pollution and negative impacts on biodiversity were recorded in rivers, followed by streams and reservoirs. Some of the affected river systems harbour threatened freshwater fishes. Hydrological connectivity means that pollution could have propagated along watercourses. Given these consequences of vinasse pollution on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and services, we recommend a number of remedial actions.

Irrigation dams threaten Brazilian biodiversity.

Brazil is among the main contributors to global biodiversity, which, in turn, provides extensive ecosystem services. Agriculture is an activity that benefits greatly from these ecosystem services, but at the same time is degrading aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and eroding Brazilian biodiversity. This conflict is growing, as emerging unsustainable legislative proposals that will benefit the agricultural sector are likely to accelerate the decline of biodiversity. One such initiative (Bill 1282/2019) would change Brazil's "Forest Code" (Law 12,651/2012) to facilitate construction of irrigation dams in Permanent Preservation Areas, a category that includes strips (with or without vegetation) along the edges of watercourses. Two other similar bills are advancing through committees in the Chamber of Deputies. Here we provide details of these three bills and discuss their consequences for Brazil's biodiversity if they are approved. Expected negative impacts with changes in the legislation include: increased deforestation; siltation; habitat fragmentation; introduction of non-native species; reduction in the availability of aquatic habitats; and changes in biogeochemical process. These proposals jeopardize biodiversity and may compromise the negotiations for an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.

Ultrasonic scalpel associated with photodynamic therapy in the treatment of refractory vulvar condyloma acuminatum.

This is a case report of a patient with vulvar condyloma acuminatum associated with hyperkeratosis and folliculitis, which had been refractory to two previous therapies. The patient had been successfully treated using a combination of promising techniques: the ultrasonic scalpel and MAL photodynamic therapy.

Cytogenotoxicity evaluation of heavy metals detected in extracts and infusion of Baccharis trimera, potential bioaccumulator plant.

Heavy metals (HMs) are natural components of the Earth's crust that might originate from natural and anthropogenic sources. In excess quantities, the presence of these metals is harmful for both environment and human health. Taking this into account, various investigators examined bioaccumulator species in order to reduce environmental toxicity, among these Baccharis trimera. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the capacity of B. trimera to bioaccumulate HMs and assess consequent cytogenotoxicity following exposure. B. trimera vegetative parts were collected from two groups (1) control, in which plants were cultivated in soil exposed to distilled water, and (2) exposed, in which plants were cultivated in soil exposed to HMs including manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), and chromium (Cr). HMs were quantified in cultivation soil and extracts (aqueous and ethanolic) as well as infusion of B. trimera vegetative parts. Root lengths and cytogenotoxic effects were determined using Allium cepa test. Results demonstrated that all HMs studied were absorbed and bioaccumulated by B. trimera. Root lengths were decreased when exposed to ethanolic extract of B. trimera cultivated in soil exposed to HMs solution, which was the extract that exhibited the highest cytogenotoxicity values. Thus, data demonstrated that B. trimera might serve as a bioaccumulator for the reduction of environmental toxicity associated with the presence of certain HMs.

Notes on some type specimens of the Natural History Museum of Pirassununga, São Paulo, Brazil.

Professor Manuel Pereira de Godoy idealized the Natural History Museum of Pirassununga (MHNP, in Portuguese), State of São Paulo, Brazil, in 1938. In 1962, the MHNP was constructed in the backyard of his house. In 1977, the museum also received the type specimens of fishes from the defunct Estação Experimental de Biologia e Piscicultura de Pirassununga (EEBP). Here we provide notes (including photographs) of 11 type specimens (holotypes, paratypes, and syntypes) of the following 10 species belonging to four families and two orders: Leporinus amae, Astyanax (Astyanax) trierythropterus, Hyphessobrycon flammeus guabirubae, Plecostomus fluviatilis, Plecostomus luteus, Plecostomus topavae, Cetopsorhamdia iheringi, Chasmocranus brachynema, Nannorhamdia schubarti, Pimelodella insignis. Our study provides unprecedented photographic records of several type specimens deposited in MHNP. We expect this study will help in species identification and also assist future taxonomic studies of Neotropical freshwater fishes.

First record of plastic ingestion by a freshwater stingray.

The abundance and dispersion of plastic particles in aquatic ecosystems has become pervasive resulting in the incorporation of these materials into food webs. Here we describe the first record of plastic ingestion by the freshwater white-blotched river stingray Potamotrygon leopoldi (Potamotrygonidae), an endemic and threatened species in the Xingu River, Amazon basin. Potamotrygonidae stingrays inhabit exclusively Neotropical rivers, occupying rocky substrate habitats and feeding mainly on benthic macroinvertebrates. The gastrointestinal tract of 24 stingrays were analyzed, 16 (66.6 %) of which contained plastic particles. In total, 81 plastic particles were recorded and consisted of microplastics (< 5 mm, n = 57) and mesoplastics (5-25 mm, n = 24). The plastic particles found were classified into fibers (64.2 %, n = 52) and fragments (35.8 %, n = 29). The predominant color was blue (33.3 %, n = 27), followed by yellow (18.5 %, n = 15), white (14.8 %, n = 12), black (13.6 %, n = 11), green (6.2 %, n = 5), transparent (4.9 %, n = 4), pink, grey and brown (2.5 %, n = 2, each) and orange (1.2 %, n = 1). No significant correlation was observed between the number of plastic particles and the body size. Eight types of polymers were identified in the plastic particles analyzed using 2D FTIR Imaging. The most frequent polymer was artificial cellulose fiber. This is the first report of plastic ingestion by freshwater elasmobranchs in the world. Plastic waste has become an emerging problem in aquatic ecosystems globally and our results provide an important datapoint for freshwater stingrays in the Neotropics.

Cytogenotoxic, insecticidal, and phytotoxic activity from biomass extracts of the freshwater algae Nitella furcata.

Agroecology, the application of ecological concepts to agricultural production, has been developing over the last years with consequent promotion for discovery of bioactive compounds to control pests and abolish crop diseases. In this context, algae from Nitella genus are characterized by high potential for bioeconomic applications due to (1) available biomass for harvesting or cultivation and (2) production of allelochemicals, which present a potential to protect field crops from insect infestation. Therefore, this study aimed to determine primary and secondary metabolites derived from aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts of Nitella furcata and to evaluate phytotoxic, cytogenotoxic, insecticidal, and pro-oxidative activities of these extracts. Determination of metabolites showed the presence predominantly of carbohydrates, proteins, phenols, and flavonoids in hydroethanolic extract. Both extracts of N. furcata interfered in the germination of seeds and development of seedlings of Lactuca sativa, with hydroethanolic extract exhibiting greater inhibition. Both extracts also interfered with meristematic cells of Allium cepa as evidenced by chromosomal alterations and higher pro-oxidative activity. Aqueous extract at 5 and 0 mg/ml produced 100% insect mortality. Further, hydroethanolic extract at 0 mg/ml was lethal immediately upon exposure. Therefore, results demonstrate that N. furcata is potential algae species to be considered for development of environmental and ecotoxicological studies as a source of compounds with potential use in agroecological strategies.

Association between Ichthyocladius (Diptera: Chironomidae) and armored catfishes in the Guareí River basin, São Paulo State, Brazil.

Ichthyocladius is a genus of chironomid (Diptera, Insecta) whose immature forms live attached to the bodies of some species of freshwater fishes. Here we investigate the association between Ichthyocladius spp. and armored catfish in streams of the Guareí River basin, Paraná River system, Brazil. We provide the first record of I. lilianae associated with fish in the São Paulo State and the Paraná River basin. In addition, this is the first report of Ichthyocladius associated with the armored catfishes Hypostomus iheringii and H. tietensis. Lastly, we record two undescribed species of Chironomidae (i.e., Ichthyocladius sp. 1 and Ichthyocladius sp. 2) associated with fishes.

Heavy metal accumulation efficiency and subsequent of cytogenotoxicity evaluation in the medicinal plant Equisetum hyemale.

Heavy metals in soils represent a threat to the environment, food safety, as well as human and animal health. The bioaccumulation of these elements in plants might enhance medium- and long-term adverse health risk promoting genetic alterations that lead to dermal, gastrointestinal, circulatory, renal, and brain disorders. The present study aimed to determine the bioaccumulation potential and cytogenotoxic effect of Equisetum hyemale extracts. E. hyemale seedlings were divided into two groups: exposed group (plants cultivated in soil with heavy metals solution) and control (plants cultivated in soil with distilled water). Heavy metals were quantified in the cultivation soils (control and exposed) and extracts (ethanolic and infusion) of vegetative parts from E. hyemale cultivated in both soils. Root length and cytogenotoxic effect were determined utilizing Allium cepa bioassay. Data demonstrated that Equisetum hyemale present the ability to absorb and bioaccumulate different heavy metals including lead, copper, cobalt manganese, zinc, iron and chromium. Given this property E. hyemale may be considered a reliable bioindicator to assess cytogenotoxicity of certain substances that exert adverse risks to environment and human and animal health.

Phytotoxic, cytogenotoxic, and insecticidal activities of compounds from extracts of freshwater Lyngbya sp.

The development of agroecology has promoted the discovery of new bioactive compounds that might act as biocides to control infections and microbial contamination. Algae belonging to Lyngbya genus produce several allelochemicals, which are compounds with crop protection potential. The present study aimed to examine primary and secondary compounds derived from Lyngbya sp. extracts (aqueous and hydroethanolic) on phytotoxic, cytogenotoxic, and insecticidal activities. Determination of compounds indicated the presence predominantly of proteins and flavonoids. The extracts presented physicochemical characteristics that produced (1) 89% germination inhibition using hydroethanolic extract and (2) diminished development of seedlings of L. sativa by hydroethanolic extract as evidenced by reduced radicles length in 83.54%. Aqueous and hydroethanolic Lyngbya sp. extracts significantly interfered with meristematic cells of A. cepa, as evidenced by chromosomal alterations and aberrant mitotic phases in cells. Extracts also exhibited pro-oxidative activity and a potent insecticidal potential on S. zeamais, indicating that the hydroethanolic extract produced 100% insect mortality at 75 mg/ml after 48 hr while the aqueous extract initiated 90% mortality at the same concentration after 82 hr. Therefore, data demonstrate that Lyngbya genus provides basic information for new environmental and ecotoxicological studies to seek a possible source of proteins and flavonoids to be used in agroecological management.

Machine learning algorithms for soybean yield forecasting in the Brazilian Cerrado.

BACKGROUND: We evaluated different machine learning (ML) models for predicting soybean productivity up to 1 month in advance for the Matopiba agricultural frontier (States of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia). We collected meteorological data on the NASA-POWER platform and soybean yield on the SIDRA/IBGE base between 2008 and 2017. The ML models evaluated were random forest (RF), artificial neural networks, radial base support vector machines (SVM_RBF), linear model and polynomial regression. To assess the performance of the models, cross-validation was used, obtaining the value of precision by R2 , accuracy by root mean square error (RMSE), and trend by the mean error of the estimate (EME). RESULTS: The results showed that the RF algorithm achieves the highest precision and accuracy, with R2 of 0.81, RMSE of 176.93 kg ha-1 and trend (EME) of 1.99 kg ha-1 . On the other hand, the SVM_RBF algorithm showed the lowest performance, with R2 of 0.74, RMSE of 213.58 kg ha-1 and EME of -15.06 kg ha-1 . The average yield values predicted by the models were within the expected range for the region, which has a historical average value of 2.730 kg ha-1 . CONCLUSION: All models had acceptable precision, accuracy and trend indices, which makes it possible to use all algorithms to be applied in the prediction of soybean crop yield, observing the particularities of the region to be studied, in addition to being a useful tool for agricultural planning and decision making in soy-producing regions such as the Brazilian Cerrado. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ghost nets: A poorly known threat to Brazilian freshwater biodiversity.

Ghost nets constitute a serious threat to aquatic biodiversity, because they entangle animals as long as they persist in the environment. However, scientific literature in Brazil is virtually silent about this issue in inland ecosystems. Concerned with this gap, we conducted searches on YouTube BR to gather information about ghost nets in Brazilian freshwaters. Through our search, we compiled 33 independent videos showing ghost nets in different aquatic environments. In several cases, we identified entangled animals (i.e., fishes, reptiles, and birds). In this work we also provide recommendations to better understand and mitigate this problem in Brazilian freshwater ecosystems.

Digital media reveal negative impacts of ghost nets on Brazilian marine biodiversity.

Abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is responsible for the entanglement of several marine species. Based on a search of digital media (i.e., Google and YouTubeBR), we assessed the negative impacts of ghost nets-a type of ALDFG-on Brazilian marine biodiversity. We found that ghost nets negatively affected crustaceans, fishes, reptiles, birds, and mammals in different parts of the Brazilian coast. Our reports include marine megafauna, such as the Bryde's whale and Guiana dolphin. In addition, we found that ghost nets impacted seven threatened species and had negative effects on animals within marine protected areas. Here, we provide an update on the negative impacts of ghost nets on Brazilian marine biota, but the real situation remains underestimated and somewhat obscure.

Large-scale Degradation of the Tocantins-Araguaia River Basin.

The Tocantins-Araguaia Basin is one of the largest river systems in South America, located entirely within Brazilian territory. In the last decades, capital-concentrating activities such as agribusiness, mining, and hydropower promoted extensive changes in land cover, hydrology, and environmental conditions. These changes are jeopardizing the basin's biodiversity and ecosystem services. Threats are escalating as poor environmental policies continue to be formulated, such as environmentally unsustainable hydropower plants, large-scale agriculture for commodity production, and aquaculture with non-native fish. If the current model persists, it will deepen the environmental crisis in the basin, compromising broad conservation goals and social development in the long term. Better policies will require thought and planning to minimize growing threats and ensure the basin's sustainability for future generations.

Budd-Chiari syndrome due to hepatic venous web outflow obstruction: percutaneous treatment with balloon angioplasty.

The Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare hepatic venous disease. It is more prevalent in young adults and may present in acute, subacute, or chronic forms, causing portal hypertension. Traditional treatment consists of thrombolysis techniques and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, as a bridge to liver transplantation. Recently, use of balloon or stent angioplasty techniques has been reported for treatment of this condition. In this article, we report and discuss a case of BCS by membranous obstruction in the hepatic vein outflow tract, with middle hepatic vein thrombosis, in a 24-year-old patient. The treatment chosen and employed was transjugular balloon angioplasty, which achieved satisfactory results and good clinical evolution.

Plastic pollution: A focus on freshwater biodiversity.

Plastics are dominant pollutants in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Scientific studies that investigated the interaction between plastics and freshwater biodiversity are incipient, especially if compared to the marine realm. In this review, we provide a brief overview of plastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems around the world. We found evidence of plastic ingestion by 206 freshwater species, from invertebrates to mammals, in natural or semi-natural ecosystems. In addition, we reported other consequences of synthetic polymers in freshwater ecosystems-including, for instance, the entanglement of animals of different groups (e.g., birds). The problem of plastic pollution is complex and will need coordinated actions, such as recycling programs, correct disposal, stringent legislation, regular inspection, replacement of synthetic polymers with other materials, and ecological restoration. Current information indicates that the situation in freshwater ecosystems may be as detrimental as the pollution found in the ocean, although highly underappreciated.