Chemical Composition of Volatile Compounds in Apis mellifera Propolis from the Northeast Region of Pará State,Brazil

Propolis is a balsamic product obtained from vegetable resins by exotic Africanized bees Apis mellifera L., transported and processed by them, originating from the activity that explores and maintains these individuals. Because of its vegetable and natural origins, propolis is a complex mixture of different compound classes; among them are the volatile compounds present in the aroma. In this sense, in the present study we evaluated the volatile fraction of propolis present in the aroma obtained by distillation and simultaneous extraction, and its chemical composition was determined using coupled gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and flame ionization detection. The majority of compounds were sesquiterpene and hydrocarbons, comprising 8.2–22.19% α-copaene and 6.2–21.7% β-caryophyllene, with additional compounds identified in greater concentrations. Multivariate analysis showed that samples collected from one region may have different chemical compositions, which may be related to the location of the resin’s production. This may be related to other bee products.     

A conserved karyotype of Sternopygus macrurus (Sternopygidae, Gymnotiformes) in the Amazon region: differences from other hydrographic basins suggest cryptic speciation

We studied the karyotypes of 35 Sternopygus macrurus fishes of four localities from rivers of the Eastern Amazon basin. In these four places the karyotypes have 2n = 46 chromosomes, NF = 92, where 30 are metacentric (M) and 16 submetacentric (SM). The constitutive heterochromatin (CH) is found in the centromeric region of most chromosomes and in the pericentromeric region of pairs 5, 17 and 19. Pair 1 has a large and not common heterochromatic block in the short arm, useful as a marker for this species if not found in other Sternopygus taxa. The NOR is located in the distal region of the short arm of pair 1, showing a size heteromorphism in some specimens. The CMA₃ and DAPI fluorochrome bandings and the fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), using pantelomeric human probes techniques are described for the first time for this species. DAPI has banding coincident with the C-banded regions, which suggests that the CH is AT base-pair-rich. CMA₃ banding is coincident with the NOR, meaning that this region is GC base-pair-rich. The FISH showed that the probes hybridized only with the telomeric regions, without any sign of interstitial telomeric regions. The karyotype of the samples from different places in the Amazon basin is quite conserved, probably because of the gene flow among the populations. The karyotype differences among the Sternopygus macrurus from the Amazon basin and the São Francisco and Paraná rivers suggest that these taxa may be different species.     

Analysis of volatile sesquiterpenoids in environmental and geological samples

In order to evaluate vloatile compounds, especiallly sesquiter-penoids, in environmental and geological samples a method was penoids, in environmental and geological samples a method was required to characterize these components when they occur at low concentrations. After fractionation of the total sample extracts by TLC the aliphatic fractions were analyzed by HRGC AND THE kovats indices of all resolved peaks were calculated and comkpared with indices of all resolved peaks were calculated and compared with those obtained for commercial standards. As final step, the fractions were analyzed by HRGC-MS and structures confirmed by comparison of their mass spectra with those of certified sesuiterpene standards. Additionally sesquiterpenoids present in the dissolved phase in water samples were concentrated by solid phase extraction using XAD-2 resin. In this initial study, recovery tests with the resin were carried out in order to evaluate its performance rather than validating the methodology.     

A constraint satisfaction method applied to the problem of controlling the CO2 emission in the Legal Brazilian Amazon

Socioeconomic-driven processes such as deforestation, forest degradation, forest fires, overgrazing, overharvesting of fuelwood and slash-and-burn practices constitute the primary sources of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions in developing countries. Climate policies can induce the development of clean technology and offer incentives to accelerate reforestation. The Brazilian government has already acknowledged the urgency to invest in policies to reduce anthropogenic CO₂ emissions in the Legal Brazilian Amazon (BA). In this work, we propose a scheme to estimate the required investments in clean technology and reforestation to achieve a prescribed short term target value for the atmospheric CO₂ emission. Initially, a mathematical model is fitted to the available data to allow forecasting the values of the short term emissions of CO₂ under a combination of investments in clean technology and reforestation. The investments to reduce the emissions of CO₂ below a target value (400 million tons/year, starting at the initial value of 450) in 3 years’ time are proportional to the regional GDP. Using computer simulation it is possible to generate a range of possible investment values in clean technology and reforestation, so that the prescribed emission reduction is achieved without hindering economic growth. This strategy provides the necessary investment flexibility for the implementation of realistic climate policies.     

Local Fractal Connections to Characterize the Spatial Processes of Deforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Deforestation by human activities is a common issue in Amazonian countries. This occurs at different spatial and temporal scales causing primary forest loss and land fragmentation issues. During the deforestation process as the forest loses connectivity, the deforested patches create new intricate connections, which in turn create complex networks. In this study, we analyzed the local connected fractal dimension (LCFD) of the deforestation process in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve (SBR) with two segmentation methods, —CA-wavelet and K-means—to categorize the complexity of deforested patches’ connections and then relate these with the spatial processes. The results showed an agreement with both methods, in which LCFD values below 1 corresponded to isolated patches with simple shapes and those above 1 signified more complex and connected patches. From CA-wavelet a threshold of 1.57 was detected allowing us to identify and discern low and high land transformation, while the threshold for K-means was 1.61. Both values represent the region from which deforestation performs local aggressive expansion networks. The thresholds were used to map the LCFD in which all spatial processes were visually detected. However, the threshold of 1.6 ± 0.03 was more effective in discerning high land transformation. such as shrinkage and attrition, in the deforestation process in the SBR.     

Application of exploratory data analysis for the characterization of tubular wells of the North of Brazil

Roraima is located in the extreme North of Brazil, in the Western Amazon Region. The groundwater has an important role in the public supply of potable water on the Roraima State. The objective of this work is the application of PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and HCA (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) for the characterisation of tubular wells of the Roraima State, as regards physical–chemical composition of water. The parameters analyzed in laboratory were the following ones: pH, electric conductivity, Total Hardness, Total Alkalinity, Bicarbonate, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Nitrate, Chloride, Total Iron. The physical–chemical analyses, were carried out during the months of September and October 2000 (winter, period of rains). The laboratory analysis was performed using classical methods (titrimetry and uv–visible spectroscopy), the samples were processed in agreement with the Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater.The physical–chemical analyses, were accomplished in September and October 2000. In physical–chemical terms, the groundwater samples analyzed do not indicate any restriction to human consumption and the two chemometric methods of exploratory data analysis: PCA and HCA are efficient for the discrimination of bicarbonated (tubular wells locateds in the South of the Roraima State) and not bicarbonated (tubular wells locateds in the North of Roraima) groundwater.     

Antiviral Plants from Marajó Island,Brazilian Amazon: A Narrative Review

Diseases caused by viruses are a global threat, resulting in serious medical and social problems for humanity. They are the main contributors to many minor and major outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics worldwide. Over the years, medicinal plants have been used as a complementary treatment in a range of diseases. In this sense, this review addresses promising antiviral plants from Marajó island, a part of the Amazon region, which is known to present a very wide biodiversity of medicinal plants. The present review has been limited to articles and abstracts available in Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scielo, PubMed, and Google Scholar, as well as the patent offices in Brazil (INPI), United States (USPTO), Europe (EPO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). As a result, some plants from Marajó island were reported to have actions against HIV-1,2, HSV-1,2, SARS-CoV-2, HAV and HBV, Poliovirus, and influenza. Our major conclusion is that plants of the Marajó region show promising perspectives regarding pharmacological potential in combatting future viral diseases.     

High Temperature Gas Chromatography with a Glass Capillary Column for the Analysis of High Molecular Weight Tracers in Smoke Samples from Biomass Burning

A custom-made glass capillary column coated with OV-1701-OH (88% methyl, 7% cyanopropyl, 5% phenylpolysiloxane) was used to analyze smoke samples from biomass combustion of different species of plants collected in the Amazon forest. CS₂ was used as solvent in order to enhance the dissolution and analysis of the heavier molecular weight components. The performance of the column was monitored during the experiments and a moderate increase in activity was observed after taking the column to high analytical temperatures (390°C). Trennzahl values typically dropped 20–30% from 1.7/m to the average of 1.35/m. In general, the performance of the custom-made column was satisfactory and comparable to the commercial high temperature columns. The high temperature high resolution GC and GC-MS analyses revealed the presence of a number of high molecular weight components reported to occur in smoke aerosols for the first time. These components consisted of series of wax esters (long chain alcohols esterified with long chain fatty acids) with up to 58 carbon numbers, aliphatic hydrocarbons, triglycerides, triterpenyl esters (e.g. α- and β-amyryl stearate). Although other types of compounds were also detected, their complete structure elucidation solely by electron impact MS was not adequate and other techniques will be required.