Deterioration of extrafloral nectaries and leaf damages caused by air pollution in a Brazilian native species from the Atlantic Forest.

In Brazil, more than 90% of steel mills are located in states that have Atlantic Forest which, together with the pollution of large urban centers, represent risk factors for the environmental quality of this important biome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of urban and industrial air pollution in a city in Minas Gerais that has a steel mill on the symptomatology, on the leaf chemistry, and on the anatomy and micromorphology of extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) of Joannesia princeps Vell. (Euphorbiaceae), a native species of the Atlantic Forest. For 126 days, seedlings of J. princeps were exposed on stand systems in the urban and industrial area of MG (Ipatinga city), in the following places: Bom Retiro, Cariru, Cidade Nobre, and Veneza. For anatomical analysis, EFNs were collected and processed for microscopic analysis. In the southern parts of the steel mill closest to the Rio Doce State Park (RDSP) (Bom Retiro and Cariru), there was a predominance of NO, NOX, SO2 (Bom Retiro), naphthalene, benzene, and total suspended particulates (Cariru). In locations north of the steel mill (Cidade Nobre and Veneza), there was a predominance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In the urban environment, intense anatomical and micromorphological damage to EFNs, leaf damage, leaf metal accumulation, and alterations in the histochemical tests of the plants were observed. The interior of the RDSP presented environmental quality, but the contribution of pollutants near the border between the RDSP and the city of Ipatinga is worrying, requiring constant monitoring of this area to verify the impact and threat that pollution can cause on these Atlantic Forest remnants.

Um modelo matemático para avaliação do impacto da temperatura na evolução da virulência / A mathematical model to evaluate the impact of temperature on the evolution of virulence

O fenômeno do aumento global da temperatura é uma realidade inquestionável. Tendo em vista tal cenário, acredita-se que haverá uma expansão geográfica (migração de populações humanas) e um aumento na incidência de infecções tropicais. No entanto, a tendência de aumento da severidade destas infecções como função do aumento da temperatura ainda é desconhecida. Suponha que duas cepas de um dado parasita estejam competindo pelo mesmo hospedeiro. É possível mostrar que, em geral, a cepa com uma estratégia evolucionária estável, isto é, aquela que vence a competição, é aquela com maior valor de reprodutibilidade basal. Queremos saber quais combinações de temperatura ambiental T e virulência V maximizam Ro(T, V). Para isto calculamos o plano tangente ao ponto máximo (ou a uma região de máximo) e analisamos as respectivas curvas de nível. Para tanto, calculamos o seguinte sistema de equações diferenciais: ?Ro/?T = 0 ; ?Ro/?V = 0 (1). Agora, consideremos o caso de uma infecção transmitida por um vetor. Demonstramos que, neste caso, o aumento na Virulência do parasita está associada ao aumento na Temperatura. Esta hipótese é embasada por evidências empíricas de dengue hemorrágica em Singapura que vem aumentando sua virulência à medida em que há um aumento observado da temperatura local nos últimos anos.

The phenomenon of global increase of the temperature is reality unquestionable. In this case, it is expected that the increase in the global temperature will lead to an expansion of the geographical spread and to an increase in the incidence of tropical infections. However, the trend in severity of those infections as a function of the increase in the temperature is still unknown. Suppose that two strains of a given parasite are competing for the same host. It is possible to demonstrate that, in general, the strain with an evolutionary stable strategy, that is, the one that wins the competition, is the one with the highest value of R 0. We want to know which combination of environmental temperature T and virulence V maximizes R 0( V ). For this we calculate the tangent plane to the maximum point, that is ?Ro/?T=0 ; ?Ro/?V=0 (2) Now, let us consider the case of a vector-borne infection. We demonstrate, in this case, that the increase in temperature is associated with an increase in the parasite virulence. This hypothesis is supported by empirical evidence from dengue hemorrhagic fever in Singapore, which is increasing its virulence along with the increase in the local temperature observed in the last years.