Multibiomarker approach in fish to assess a heavily polluted Brazilian estuary, Guanabara Bay.

Brazil's Guanabara Bay (GB), located in Rio De Janeiro, is a deeply contaminated, eutrophic waterbody that challenges the understanding of the effects of pollutants on the biota. This paper presents a strategy to evaluate the impact of contamination utilizing a multibiomarker approach in two fish species: corvine (Micropogonias furnieri) and burrfish (Chilomycterus spinosus). The strategy is comprised of a general biomarker of fish' physical condition, the condition factor (CF), and specific biomarkers of pollutant exposure such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), metallothionein (MT) activity and biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) metabolites.

Mining Dam Failures in Brazil: Comparing Legal Post-Disaster Decisions.

Mining dam failures have increased worldwide since the 1980s. Two large mining dam failures occurred recently in Mariana and Brumadinho, both in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. We hypothesize that there were significant differences in legal post-disaster decisions.

"Too Much to Ask, Too Much to Handle": Women's Coping in Times of Zika.

Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of congenital brain abnormalities. Its consequences for pregnancies have made governments and both national and international agencies issue advice and recommendations to women. This study was designed to understand the impacts of Zika on women who were less directly affected and less vulnerable to Zika.

Solidarity, vulnerability and mistrust: how context, information and government affect the lives of women in times of Zika.

Background: The public health response to Zika outbreak has mostly focused on epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and individual level preventative measures. This qualitative study employs a social-ecological framework to examine how macro (historical, legislative, political, socio-economic factors), meso (sources of information, social support, social mobilization) and micro level factors (individual actions, behavioral changes) interacted to influence the response and behavior of women with respect to Zika in different contexts.

Methods: A qualitative study was carried out.

Ivermectin efficacy against Biomphalaria, intermediate host snail vectors of Schistosomiasis.

The impact of ivermectin on adult snails of the genus Biomphalaria (B. glabrata, B. tenagophila and B.

[Assessment of impacts of combined treatment of solid urban waste landfill leachate and sewage on aquatic biota].

The impact on tilapia fish of combined treatment of landfill leachate and domestic sewage was monitored in a waste treatment plant that operated on a pilot scale using the activated sludge process. Biomarkers of sub-lethal toxicity were used to indicate the possibility of damage to organisms due to interaction with pollutants. The concentration of metallothioneins did not indicate the increased presence of metals in fish exposed than in control groups.

Analysis of individual versus group behavior of zebrafish: a model using pH sublethal effects.

An image analysis biomonitoring system was used to evaluate sublethal effects of pH on the mean swimming velocity of zebrafish. Responses to stress were tested comparing individual and group responses. Group analysis indicated no effect for all acid pH and for pH 9.

Multibiomarker approach in fish to assess the impact of pollution in a large Brazilian river, Paraiba do Sul.

This article examines the advantages of the use of biomarkers as environmental indicators by applying it to Paraiba do Sul watershed, one of the most important Brazilian water bodies, which is in a critical environmental situation. We use a multibiomarker approach in fish as an integrated strategy to assess the impact of pollution. It comprehends a general biomarker of fish health, the condition factor (CF), and specific biomarkers of contaminant exposure such as metallothionein (MT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and biliary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) metabolites.

Biomarkers in an invasive fish species, Oreochromis niloticus, to assess the effects of pollution in a highly degraded Brazilian River.

Paraiba do Sul watershed is one of the most important Brazilian water bodies (5.5 million people depend on the river). It is in a critical environmental situation, polluted by industrial discharges, non-treated urban wastes, and pesticides, which have had cumulatively negative effects.

[Use of bioindicators for assessing and monitoring pesticides contamination in streams and rivers].

The objective of this article is to present an analysis of the main bioindicators that are currently used to assess the environmental impact of pollution in water resources. The simple quantification of chemicals in the environment is not enough to reveal the real effects of contamination on ecosystems, making necessary the assessment of the biological effects that pollution causes at different hierarchical levels. The bioindicators used in this article on two case studies comprehend different hierarchical levels: in case study 1, three organization levels were utilized: individual, cellular and molecular, to detect the early effects of exposition to environmental pollutants in three hydrographic basins.

Short-term responses to cadmium exposure in the estuarine polychaete Laeonereis acuta (polychaeta, Nereididae): subcellular distribution and oxidative stress generation.

Some effects of cadmium exposure (100 microg/L for 4, 8, 12, and 24 h) on the estuarine polychaete Laeonereis acuta (Nereididae) were evaluated. This polychaete was able to accumulate cadmium in the body, with the metal stored mainly in the cytosolic fraction (>10 kDa). Activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase, and glutathione reductase (GR) as well as the total oxyradical scavenger capacity, the glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit gene expression, and the metallothionein-like proteins content were not affected by cadmium at any exposure time tested.

Identification of a new class of inhibitors of the voltage-gated potassium channel, Kv1.3, with immunosuppressant properties.

The voltage-gated potassium channel, K(v)1.3, is a novel target for development of immunosuppressants. Using a functional (86)Rb(+) efflux assay, a new class of high-affinity K(v)1.