On the extreme hydrologic events determinants by means of Beta-Singh-Maddala reparameterization.

In previous studies, beta-k distribution and distribution functions strongly related to that, have played important roles in representing extreme events. Among these distributions, the Beta-Singh-Maddala turned out to be adequate for modelling hydrological extreme events. Starting from this distribution, the aim of the paper is to express the model as a function of indexes of hydrological interest and simultaneously investigate on their dependence with a set of explanatory variables in such a way to explore on possible determinants of extreme hydrologic events. Finally, an application to a real hydrologic dataset is considered in order to show the potentiality of the proposed model in describing data and in understanding effects of covariates on frequently adopted hydrological indicators.

Stereospecific Epoxidation of Limonene Catalyzed by Peroxygenase from Oat Seeds.

Limonene is one of the most abundant naturally occurring cyclic monoterpenes and has recently emerged as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based solvents as well as a chemical platform for the production of value-added compounds. The biocatalytic epoxidation of both enantiomers of limonene was carried out in the presence of a peroxygenase-containing preparation from oat (Avena sativa) flour. Different reaction profiles were observed depending on the starting enantiomer of limonene, but in both cases the 1,2-monoepoxide was obtained as the main product with excellent diastereoselectivity. Trans-1,2-monoepoxide and cis-1,2-monoepoxide were isolated from the reaction of (R)-limonene and (S)-limonene, respectively, and the reactions were scaled-up to 0.17 M substrate concentration. The process is valuable for operational simplicity, lack of toxic metal catalysts, and cost-effectiveness of the enzymatic source. Pure stereoisomers of 1,2-monoepoxides of limonene constitute a useful starting material for biorenewable polymers, but can be also converted into other chiral derivatives by epoxide ring opening with nucleophiles. As a proof of concept, a tandem protocol for the preparation of enantiopure (1S,2S,4R)-1,2-diol from (R)-limonene and (1R,2R,4S)-1,2-diol from (S)-limonene was developed.

The influence of urban, socio-economic, and eco-environmental aspects on COVID-19 cases, deaths and mortality: A multi-city case in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

Urban, socio-economic and eco-environmental influences on people's health are widely studied and well-known. Their relation to COVID-19, however, is still a novel research topic. Thus, we investigated if COVID-19 parameters are higher in cities with higher urbanization, worst socio-economic conditions, and less vegetation cover, considering 3,052 municipalities in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Brazil is the second country most affected by COVID-19, and the Atlantic Forest is its most urbanized, populous, and deforested region. Indexes were created through multivariate principal components analysis using secondary official data: population, demographic density, absolute built area, and relative built area as urbanization parameters; average per capita income, relative people vulnerable to poverty, illiteracy rate of the population aged 18 or over, and human development index (HDI) as socio-economic parameters; and absolute and relative vegetation cover, absolute and relative forest cover as eco-environmental parameters. These indexes were correlated with absolute and relative confirmed COVID-19 cases, absolute and relative confirmed deaths, and mortality rate via Spearman's and Kendall's coefficients. Strong correlations (>0.50) were found between COVID-19 and urbanization. Socio-economic and eco-environmental aspects, although weaker predictors of COVID-19, presented meaningful relations with the health parameters. This study contributes to the evidence regarding COVID-19 incidence in the Brazilian population.

Lyophilized extracts from vegetable flours as valuable alternatives to purified oxygenases for the synthesis of oxylipins.

In this work, the whole aqueous extracts of soybean flour and oat flour have been used as valuable alternatives to purified oxygenase enzymes for the preparation of oxylipins derived from (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z,17Z)-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). The lipoxygenase activity in the aqueous extracts of soybean (Glycine max. L.) flour was monitored with linoleic acid as substrate and compared with the commercially available purified enzyme (LOX-1). Oat flour extracts (Avena sativa L.) were evaluated for their peroxygenase activity by comparing different enzyme preparations in the epoxidation of methyl oleate. It was found that lyophilization of the aqueous extracts from these vegetable flours offers advantages in terms of enzyme stability, reproducibility and applicability to preparative organic synthesis. The lyophilized enzyme preparations were tested for the oxyfunctionalization of EPA and the formed products were isolated in satisfactory yields. In the presence of lyophilized extract from soybean, EPA gave 15S-hydroxy-(5Z,8Z,11Z,13E,17Z)-eicosapentaenoic acid in enantiopure form as exclusive product. Peroxygenase from oat flour was less selective and catalyzed the formation of different epoxides of EPA. However, the biocatalyzed epoxidation of EPA under controlled conditions allowed to obtain optically active (17R,18S)-epoxy-(5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z)-eicosatetraenoic acid (65% ee) as the main monoepoxide, among the five possible ones.

Mapeamento e distribuição de Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (LINNAEUS, 1766) nos parques públicos de Curitiba-PR / Mapping and distribution of Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (LINNAEUS, 1766) in the public parks of Curitiba, Paraná / Mapeamiento y distribución de Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (LINNAEUS, 1766) en los parques públicos de Curitiba-PR

Tendo em vista a presença constante de capivaras em ambientes urbanos brasileiros, esse estudo desenvolveu-se com o objetivo de mapear a ocorrência e distribuição de Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris nas áreas verdes públicas da capital do estado do Paraná. No período de agosto de 2013 a julho de 2015 bosques e parques foram inspecionados em busca da presença e dos vestígios da espécie. Mapas de cobertura do solo das áreas de ocorrência foram confeccionados a partir de dados vetoriais e imagens de satélite, nesses foram plotados os registros de presença e vestígios. Realizaram-se também censos anuais nas áreas onde o mamífero foi visualizado. A partir disso, verificou-se que as capivaras utilizam 14 parques de Curitiba e, que em quatro desses a quantidade de animais é superior ao dos demais parques do município.(AU)

Due to the constant presence of capybaras in Brazilian urban environments, this study was developed with the objective of mapping the occurrence of Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris in public green areas of the capital city of the state of Paraná. In the period from August 2013 to July 2015, forests and parks were inspected in search of the presence and evidence of the species. Soil cover maps of the areas of incidence were drawn from vector data and satellite images, in which the presence and trace records were plotted. Annual censuses were also carried out in the areas where the mammals were sighted. As a result, it could be verified that capybaras use 14 parks in Curitiba and that in four of them the number of animals is higher than in the other parks of the city.(AU)

En vista la presencia constante de carpinchos en ambientes urbanos brasileños, ese estudio se desarrolló con el objetivo de mapear la ocurrencia y distribución de Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris en áreas verdes públicas de la capital del estado de Paraná. En el período de agosto de 2013 a julio de 2015, bosques y parques fueron inspeccionados en busca de presencia y de vestigios de la especie. Mapas de cobertura del suelo de las áreas de ocurrencia fueron confeccionados a partir de datos vectoriales e imágenes de satélite, en los cuales fueron trazados los registros de presencia y vestigios. Se realizaron también censos anuales en las áreas donde el mamífero fue visualizado. A partir de eso, se verificó que los carpinchos utilizan 14 parques de Curitiba y que en cuatro de ellos la cantidad de animales es superior al de los demás parques del municipio.(AU)

Flowering phenology and fruit set of native species of the Campos ecosystem - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.478 / Fenologia do florescimento e frutificação de espécies nativas dos Campos - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.478

The aim of this work is to study the phenology of twelve species that occur in Campos ecosystem in Paraná state. This research was carried out at the Universidade Federal do Paraná, Campus III, in Curitiba city. The selected species for phenologic evaluation were: Aspilia montevidensis (Sprengel) Kuntze, Cacalia cognata (Less.) Kuntze, Campovassouria bupleurifolia (DC.) R. M. King & H. Rob., Campuloclinium macrocephalum (Less.) DC., Chromolaena ascendens (Sch. Bip. ex. Baker) R. M. King & H. Rob., Lessingianthus glabratus (Less.) H. Rob. (Asteraceae), Eryngium sanguisorba Cham. & Schtdl. (Apiaceae), Moritzia dusenii Johnston (Boraginaceae), Petunia linoidesSendtn. (Solanaceae), Senna neglecta (Vogel) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (Fabaceae), Tibouchina gracilis (Bonpl.) Cogn. (Melastomataceae) and Verbena rigida Spreng (Verbenaceae). The applied methodology was the qualitative evaluation of the phenological data (florescence and fruiting) observed every fifteen days during the year 2004. The climatic variables as temperature, relative air humidity, precipitation and photoperiod were obtained daily to verify its relation with the phenophasis. The results showed that from all studied species, six of them presented reproductive phenology between January and August, while the others just had an interruption in the reproductive period during winter, except Aspilia montevid

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a fenologia de 12 espécies ocorrentes no ecossistema de Campos no Estado do Paraná. A pesquisa foi realizada no Campus III, da Universidade Federal do Paraná, na cidade de Curitiba. As espécies selecionadas para a avaliação fenológica foram: Aspilia montevidensis (Sprengel) Kuntze, Cacalia cognata (Less.) Kuntze, Campovassouria bupleurifolia (DC.) R. M. King & H. Rob., Campuloclinium macrocephalum (Less.) DC., Chromolaena ascendens (Sch. Bip. ex. Baker) R. M. King & H. Rob., Lessingianthus glabratus (Less.) H. Rob. (Asteraceae), Eryngium sanguisorba Cham. & Schtdl. (Apiaceae), Moritzia dusenii Johnston (Boraginaceae), Petunia linoides Sendtn. (Solanaceae), Senna neglecta (Vogel) H. S. Irwin & Barneby (Fabaceae), Tibouchina gracilis (Bonpl.) Cogn. (Melastomataceae) e Verbena rigida Spreng (Verbenaceae). A metodologia utilizada foi a avaliação qualitativa dos dados fenológicos (floração e frutificação), observados quinzenalmente, durante o ano de 2004. As variáveis climáticas: temperatura, umidade relativa do ar, precipitação e fotoperíodo foram obtidas diariamente para verificar sua relação com as fenofases. Os resultados indicaram que, das espécies estudadas, seis tiveram fase fenológica reprodutiva entre janeiro e agosto, enquanto as demais tiveram a interrupção do período reprodutivo durante o inverno, com exceção de As

Propagation by seeds of Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran (florde- maio) in different substrates - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.480 / Propagação por sementes de Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran (flor-de-maio) em diferentes substratos - DOI: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v29i3.480

Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran (Cactaceae), known as flor-de-maio, is a Brazilian endogenous herbaceous epiphytic species, much appreciated as ornamental for the beauty of its flowers. This species is multiplied by seeds, but commercially it is propagated by cuttings and grafting. The aim of this research was to evaluate the germination of four varieties of colors of this species (pink, red, white and yellow) in five substrates (vermiculite, de-fibered tree ferns, sand, commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras and a mixture of 50% of the commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras + 50% tree ferns). The results showed that this species can be easily reproduced by seeds. The commercial substrate Rendmax® Floreiras provided the best germination result.

Schlumbergera truncata (Haw.) Moran (Cactaceae), conhecida como flor-demaio, é uma espécie herbácea epífita, nativa no Brasil, muito apreciada como planta ornamental pela beleza de suas flores. Esta espécie multiplica-se por sementes, mas comercialmente é propagada por estacas e enxertia. Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a germinação de quatro variedades de cores desta espécie (rosa, vermelha, branca e amarela) em cinco substratos (vermiculita de granulometria média, xaxim desfibrado, areia, substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras e mistura de 50% do substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras + 50% xaxim desfibrado). Os resultados mostraram que a espécie pode ser reproduzida com facilidade por sementes. O substrato comercial Rendmax® Floreiras proporcionou os melhores resultados.

Nutrition rehabilitation of undernourished children utilizing Spiruline and Misola.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition constitutes a public health problem throughout the world and particularly in developing countries. AIMS: The objective of the study is to assess the impact of an elementary integrator composed of Spiruline (Spirulina platensis) and Misola (millet, soja, peanut) produced at the Centre Medical St Camille (CMSC) of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the nutritional status of undernourished children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 550 undernourished children of less than 5 years old were enrolled in this study, 455 showed severe marasma, 57 marasma of medium severity and 38 kwashiorkor plus marasma. We divided the children randomly into four groups: 170 were given Misola (731 +/- 7 kcal/day), 170 were given Spiruline plus traditional meals (748 +/- 6 kcal/day), 170 were given Spiruline plus Misola (767 +/- 5 kcal/day). Forty children received only traditional meals (722 +/- 8 kcal/day) and functioned as the control group. The duration of this study was eight weeks. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Anthropometrics and haematological parameters allowed us to appreciate both the nutritional and biological evolution of these children. The rehabilitation with Spiruline plus Misola (this association gave an energy intake of 767 +/- 5 kcal/day with a protein assumption of 33.3 +/- 1.2 g a day), both greater than Misola or Spiruline alone, seems to correct weight loss more quickly. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that Misola, Spiruline plus traditional meals or Spiruline plus Misola are all a good food supplement for undernourished children, but the rehabilitation by Spiruline plus Misola seems synergically favour the nutrition rehabilitation better than the simple addition of protein and energy intake.

Nutrition rehabilitation of HIV-infected and HIV-negative undernourished children utilizing spirulina.

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of an alimentary integrator composed of spirulina (Spirulina platensis; SP), produced at the Centre Médical St Camille of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on the nutritional status of undernourished HIV-infected and HIV-negative children. We compared two groups of children: 84 were HIV-infected and 86 were HIV-negative. The duration of the study was 8 weeks. Anthropometric and haematological parameters allowed us to appreciate both the nutritional and biological effect of SP supplement to traditional meals. Rehabilitation with SP shows on average a weight gain of 15 and 25 g/day in HIV-infected and HIV-negative children, respectively. The level of anaemia decreased during the study in all children, but recuperation was less efficient among HIV-infected children. In fact 81.8% of HIV-negative undernourished children recuperated as opposed to 63.6% of HIV-infected children (Z: 1.70 (95% CI -0.366, -0.002, p = 0.088)). Our results confirm that SP is a good food supplement for undernourished children. In particular, rehabilitation with SP also seems to correct anaemia and weight loss in HIV-infected children, and even more quickly in HIV-negative undernourished children.

Dihydrostilbene derivatives from Glycyrrhiza glabra leaves.

Four new dihydrostilbenes, alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-4'-acetoxy-5'-isopentenylstilbene (1), alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,3',4'-trihydroxy-5-O-isopentenyl-6-isopentenylstilbene (2), alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxystilbene (3), and alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,3'-dihydroxy-5beta-d-O-glucopyranosyloxy-4'-methoxystilbene (4), together with seven known flavonoids, glabranin isomer, naringenin, lupiwighteone, pinocembrin 7-O-glucoside, astragalin, isoquercitrin, vicenin II, and the inositol, pinitol, were isolated from the leaves of Glycyrrhiza glabra grown in Sicily. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.

New dihydrostilbene derivatives from the leaves of Glycyrrhiza glabra and evaluation of their antioxidant activity.

Five new prenylated dihydrostilbenes, alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,4'-trihydroxy-4,5'-diisopentenylstilbene (1), alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-4,5'-diisopentenylstilbene (2), alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,4'-trihydroxy-5'-isopentenylstilbene (3), alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,3'-trihydroxy-4'-methoxy-5'-isopentenylstilbene (4), and alpha,alpha'-dihydro-3,5,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-5'-isopentenyl stilbene (5), along with four known flavonoids, glabranin (6), pinocembrin, (7), licoflavone (8), and wighteone (9), were isolated from a lipid extract of the leaves of Sicilian Glycyrrhiza glabra. The structures of the compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The antioxidant activities of the crude extracts and the isolated compounds were tested.