Newsletter - Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences

ISSUE 32

AABC - Volume 91 (Suppl. 1) - May 2019

The present issue of the Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (AABC) is entirely dedicated to the Affiliated Members of the Academy. Here we publish 15 fine papers covering the following areas: Mathematical, Biological, Chemical, Biomedical, Engineering and Earth Sciences.  A total of 15 selected papers are published here. This time, I will not highlight any, since all are above the average manuscript that we receive in the respective areas.

Please, keep in mind that since 2000 all papers published by the AABC can be downloaded free of charge at the SciELO site and previous editions of the Newsletter are available at the ABC website.

We are now inviting you to scroll through the text and click on the title of the article that interests you!

Alexander W. A. Kellner
Editor-in-Chief

MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

1- Bohnenblust-Hille inequalities: analytical and computational aspects
Authors: Wasthenny V. Cavalcante and Daniel M. Pellegrino

The Bohnenblust–Hille inequalities are a deep tool in Mathematical Analysis and some important problems related to these inequalities still remain open. The present paper briefly surveys recent attempts to find the exact constants involved in these inequalities. It also presents new results, like connections with other subjects.

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CHEMICAL SCIENCES

2- Strategies Towards the Synthesys of N²-Substituted 1,2,3-Triazoles
Authors: Rodrigo Octávio M.A. de Souza and Leandro S. de Mariz e Miranda

The chemistry of 1,2,3-triazoles gained much attention since the discovery of the copper catalyzed Alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction which delivers exclusively the 1,4-regioisomer in high yields. On the other hand, there is still no universal methodology capable of delivering the 2,4 substituted regioisomer. The unique properties of these N²-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles have stimulated synthetic efforts on the developments of methodologies capable of delivering it in high yield and selectivity. These efforts are the subject of the presented review.

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3- Mercury exposure of children living in Amazonian villages: influence of geographical location where they lived during prenatal and postnatal development
Authors: Joyce S. Freitas, Eliza Maria C.B. Lacerda, Dario Rodrigues Júnior, Tereza Cristina O. Corvelo, Luiz Carlos L. Silveira, Maria da Conceição N. Pinheiro and Givago S. Souza

Mercury is a chemical that can affect the nervous system. In some Amazon rivers, many tons of mercury were released in the waters and they entered in the food chain. Fishes from these rivers can accumulate mercury on tissues and the fish consumption by humans can put them in risk. As the mercury is accumulated during the life span, we investigated if the mercury accumulated in the hair of children is influenced by the local of the child birth. We observed for Tapajós river basin, a place with history of mercury releasing due to gold-mining activity, that children living in the same riverside community had different mercury concentration in the hair, and the native children from the community had higher mercury concentration in the hair. For Tocantins river basin, with no history of gold-mining activity, we found no significant differences between the mercury hair concentration of native and non-native children.

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4- An overview of the Brazilian contributions to Green Analytical Chemistry
Authors: Mariana R. Gama, Wanessa R. Melchert, Thiago R.L.C. Paixão and Fábio R.P. Rocha

The search for more sustainable approaches, with minimized use of toxic chemicals and less waste generation, also applies to the analytical processes. Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) thus aimed at the development of environmental friendly analytical processes in several areas of interest, such as spectroanalysis, electroanalysis, separation sciences, as well as sample preparation. This review critically highlights the significant innovations and applications in GAC, with focus on the contributions from Brazilian workgroups in several areas of the Analytical Chemistry.

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EARTH SCIENCES

5- Arthritic lesions and congenital fusion in foot bones of Panochthus sp. (Xenarthra, Cingulata)
Authors: Fernando Henrique de S. Barbosa, Kleberson de O. Porpino, Bruce M. Rothschild, Uiara G. Cabral and Lilian P. Bergqvist

Cingulates are commonly known for the external morphology of their osteoderms. In this publication we describe the internal morphology of the osteoderms of Riostegotherium yanei, the oldest Xenarthra, from the perspective of histology and microCT approaches, expanding the least available data on cingulate osteoderm microstructure. The osteoderms of Riostegotherium yanei lacks the diploë-like structure typical of later taxa but have a three-layered structure composed, of two layers of non-Haversian compact bone enclosing a central layer of primary and secondary osteons. This internal organization is distinct from other Astegotheriini of comparable age, but similar to Dasypus. The 3D reconstruction of Riostegotherium yanei revealed two patterns of internal organization.

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6- Drought monitoring in the Brazilian Semiarid region
Authors: Regina C.S. Alvalá, Ana Paula M.A. Cunha, Sheila S.B. Brito, Marcelo E. Seluchi, José A. Marengo, Osvaldo L.L. Moraes and Magog A. Carvalho

Drought is a phenomenon characterized by its wide spatial coverage in the Brazilian semiarid region (SAB), mainly due to its hydric vulnerability. Approximately 24 million people live in the SAB, designating it the most densely populated dry region in the world. A methodology to monitor the impact of agricultural droughts, including an analysis of the hydrological year 2015-2016, was presented. The results showed that the indexes were adequate for the estimation of the number of municipalities and individuals affected. Drought caused damage to agricultural production, with grain production presenting a reduction of about 40% compared with the crop of 2014-2015.

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7- The rates and players of denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) and anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) in mangrove soils
Authors: Danice M. Luvizotto, Juliana E. Araujo, Michele de Cássia P. Silva, Armando C.F. Dias, Beate Kraft, Halina Tegetmeye,  Marc Strous and Fernando D. Andreote

In this study, we described the main transformations of nitrate and microbial players mangrove soils. It was demonstrated that the major sink for this molecule is repressed when environmental contamination occurs, limiting its cycling and therefore, changing the biogeochemistry of mangrove soils. 

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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

8- Generation of a triple-fluorescent mouse strain allows a dynamic and spatial visualization of different liver phagocytes in vivo
Authors: Brena N. Nakagaki, Maria A. Freitas-Lopes, Érika Carvalho, Raquel Carvalho-Gontijo, Hortência M. Castro-Oliveira, Rafael M. Rezende, Denise C. Cara, Mônica M. Santos, Rodrigo Pestana Lopes,  Bruna A. David and Gustavo B. Menezes

Phagocytes are present in all organs where they perform vital functions in immune responses and fighting infections. Also, phagocytes perform major tasks during organogenesis. Since different phagocytic populations (i.e., macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells) may express different markers, the most part of the studies use isolated cells to perform in vitro studies. In order to visualize these cells in their native context, we generated a novel mouse strain that spontaneously express three fluorescent proteins under control of well-studied markers in phagocyte biology. Also, we detailed describe the breeding protocol, fluorescent-delivery confirmation analysis and in vivo imaging of different phagocyte dynamics. 

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9- Molecular epidemiology of 16S rRNA methyltransferase in Brazil: RmtG in Klebsiella aerogenes ST93 (CC4)
Authors: Hemanoel  Passareli-Araújo, Jussara K. Palmeiro, Kanhu C. Moharana, Francisnei Pedrosa-Silva, Libera M. Dalla-Costa and Thiago M. Venancio

Acquisition of 16S ribosomal RNA methyltransferases (16S-RMTases, ArmA and RmtA to H) is an aminoglycoside resistance mechanism that, along with the occurrence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, has become a clinical concern. We report the presence of rmtG in Klebisella aerogenes and characterize its genetic context in comparison to isolates from other species. Further, we performed a phylogenetic reconstruction of 900 16S-RMTases and methyltransferase-related proteins. We show that, in K. aerogenes, rmtG co-occurs with sul2, near a transposon with an IS91-like insertion sequence. Resistome analysis revealed the co-production of RmtG and CTX-M-59. Ongoing surveillance of 16S-RMTases is crucial to delay their dissemination.

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10- Composition and ecology of a snake assemblage in an upland forest from Central Amazonia
Authors: Gabriel S. Masseli, Allan D. Bruce, Jucimara G. dos Santos, Timothy Vincent and Igor L. Kaefer

We investigated the composition of the snake assemblage and the effect of the environment on the distribution of the species inhabiting an upland forest in Manaus, Brazil. Data collection was conducted in standardized plots by active search. The richness in the study area corresponded to 78% of the species and 100% of the families previously recorded for the region. Quadratic polynomial regression models revealed that intermediate canopy opening percentages positively influence the richness and abundance of snakes. It is possible that the result is related to a tradeoff between the thermoregulation behavior of these animals and to their susceptibility to predation.  

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BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

11- Animal models in biological and biomedical research – experimental and ethical concerns
Authors: Monica L. Andersen and Lucile M.F. Winter

Animals have been used in studies and research for millennia in human history, and have contributed markedly to the development of vaccines, new therapies, as well as surgical techniques and anesthesia protocols. The current article describes the evolution of the Brazilian Laboratory Animal Science presenting the health research involving animals. Also, we discuss the current framework for regulating laboratory animal science, helping in the improvement of the awareness of scientific community of these ethical and legal rules.

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12- A giant on the ground: another large-bodied Atractus (Serpentes: Dipsadinae) from Ecuadorian Andes, with comments on the dietary specializations of the goo-eaters snakes
Authors:  Paulo Passos, Agustín Scanferla, Paulo R. Melo-Sampaio, Jorge Brito and Ana Almendariz

Body-size is significantly correlated with the number of vertebrae (pleomerism) in multiple vertebrate lineages, indicating that somitogenesis process is an important factor dictating evolutionary change in time associated to species fitness and diversification. However, the role of the evolution of extreme body sizes (dwarfism and gigantism) remains elusive in snakes, mainly with respect to postnatal ontogeny in dietary preferences associated with evolution of gigantism in many lineages. We described herein a new giant species in the species-rich genus Atractus. In addition, we discuss on the ontogenetic trajectories hypotheses and dietary specializations related to evolution of gigantism in the goo-eaters snakes.

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AGRARIAN SCIENCES

13- Molecular Farming of antimicrobial peptides: available platforms and strategies for improving protein biosynthesis using modified virus vectors
Authors: Michel L. Leite, Kamila B. Sampaio, Fabrício  F. Costa, Octávio L. Franco, Simoni C. Dias and Nicolau B. Cunha

Currently, there is a growing concern about increased cases of microbial resistance against conventional therapies. In this context, the prospection of molecules with antimicrobial action and the development of platforms for their large-scale production are extremely important. The present work reports the strategies for the massive biosynthesis of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in plant system. One of the most promising and versatile strategies is the transient expression of AMP encoding genes in Nicotiana benthamiana plants. The system allows to obtain milligrams of heterologous proteins in a few weeks, which allows the staggering of production at the industrial level.

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ENGINEERING SCIENCES

14- Extremum Seeking-based Adaptive PID Control applied to Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
Authors: Tiago Roux-Oliveira, Luiz R. Costa, Alexandre V. Pino and Paulo Paz

This research presents innovative results for the treatment of stroke patients by means of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). The developed scheme is applied to control the position of the patient's arm so that the movements of flexion/extension for the physiotherapy process can be precisely produced in an automatic fashion. Unlike conventional methods, the proposed approach eliminates the initial tuning procedures for each patient since the parameters of the adaptive controller are adjusted in real time. Experimental tests based on real data and validation show significant advances of the closed-loop physiotherapy for functional rehabilitation and motor relearning.

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15- Counteracting the contemporaneous proliferation of digital forgeries and fake news
Authors:  Alexandre Ferreira, Tiago Carvalho,  Fernanda Andaló and Anderson Rocha

Fake news has certainly been the expression of the moment: from political round table discussions to newspapers and social media. But what can be done to combat it? This work overviews recent methods applicable to the verification of dubious content in text and images, presenting the main idea behind each method and highlighting real situations where they can be applied. Ultimately, we show how new research areas are working to seamlessly stitch together all these methods to provide a unified analysis and to establish the synchronization in space and time - the X-Coherence - of heterogeneous sources of information documenting real-world events. 

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