The Cannabis sativa L. plant has a complex chemical composition, containing various chemical compounds such as terpenes, sugars, hydrocarbons, steroids, flavonoids, and amino acids. Few works have attempted to identify the constitutional isomers of cannabinoids that are found in the plant. The present study reported the analysis of seven cannabinoid standards: five neutral and two acidic, as well as Cannabis products (hashish and marijuana) and parts of the Cannabis plant (flower and leaf) using mono-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with quadrupole MS (GC × GC-QMS), ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-quadrupole-time of flight (UPLC-ESI-QTOF)-MS and UPLC-ESI-travelling wave ion mobility (TWIM)-MS. The results of GC-MS demonstrated close retention times (∆tR = 1.303 min) in separation of the five cannabinoid standards, whereas GC × GC-QMS provided a substantially better identification and distinction of constitutional isomers of cannabinoids, where a total of 11 cannabinoids were identified in the hashish sample. UPLC-QTOF-MS and UPLC-TWIM-MS data obtained complete chemical information, in which ESI(+) revealed the presence of seven constitutional isomers of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC), whereas ESI(-) proved the presence of four isomers of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid A (∆9-THCA A).

Abstract Mussel farms are one of the most important modalities of aquaculture and constitute almost 80% of the total bivalve production in Brazil, representing about 5% of the national production. Brachyuran crabs are common inhabitants of these environments and represent an important link in coastal marine food chains. The aim of this investigation is to describe the population structure of Panopeus austrobesus Williams, 1983 in a Perna perna (Linnaeus, 1758) farm located at the southeastern Brazilian coast. The samplings were carried out in the northeastern coast of São Paulo State. From May 2002 to April 2003, one mussel net was recovered monthly, and all individuals of P. austrobesus were collected. Population size-frequency analysis indicated a unimodal and non-normal distribution. Males were significantly larger than females, and the overall sex ratio significantly skewed from 1:1, female-biased. Recruitment occurred during the entire period, and ovigerous females were found in 11 months. The onset of sexual maturity was estimated around 5 mm cephalothorax width. Mussel farms represent an anthropogenic intervention in the sea landscape, causing environmental changes. However, these structures must allow species introduction, increasing their ecological and geographical distribution, and provide available space and food to establish new populations. This is particularly important for species with small populations, such as P. austrobesus. The results of this study attest the environmental counterpart role of the mussel farms. Once they can support populations, they may also help to reintroduce them into the area and could therefore be used in a consortium generating economic profits and acting as bioremediation tool, assuring the maintenance of the genetic patrimony.

As leguminosas forrageiras, além de contribuírem para o aumento da oferta de forragem com alto teor de proteína, também são importantes como cobertura vegetal de solos. Entre as leguminosas com grande potencial forrageiro, espécies do gênero Lotus têm se destacado. Este trabalho visou à seleção de rizóbios nativos eficientes em Lotus glaber a partir de amostras de solo de cinco localidades do Rio Grande do Sul. Obtiveram-se 259 isolados de rizóbios, que foram avaliados quanto à morfologia colonial e produção de melanina. Destes, 15 isolados foram selecionados para avaliação da eficiência na fixação simbiótica de nitrogênio em experimento em casa de vegetação e caracterizados geneticamente por comparação do perfil eletroforético dos produtos de amplificação do DNA genômico, por PCR com os oligonucleotídeos iniciadores BOX e ERIC. Apenas cinco isolados produziram melanina. Nove isolados foram mais eficientes do que a estirpe SEMIA 830, que é autorizada para a produção de inoculante para L. glaber no país. Na caracterização genética, observou-se que nenhum isolado apresentou identidade com as estirpes recomendadas, o que demonstra que, nos solos do Rio Grande do Sul, existem rizóbios autóctones eficientes na fixação simbiótica de nitrogênio com L. glaber, podendo ser recomendados para estudos a campo, visando a uma futura produção de inoculantes para estas leguminosas no Brasil.

Forage legumes besides contributing to increase the supply of high protein content forage are also good cover for the soil surface. Among the legumes with high potential forage, the genus Lotus has been outstanding. This research aimed to selectnative rhizobia efficient in fixing nitrogen with Lotus glaber, from soil samples of five localities of Rio Grande do Sul. A total of 259 rhizobia isolates were obtained, which were evaluated based on colony morphology and in vitro melanin production. Among them, 15 isolates were selected for the evaluation of the symbiotic nitrogen fixation efficiency in greenhouse experiments and genetically characterized by genomic DNA fingerprinting, PCR amplification with BOX and ERIC primers. Only five isolates produced melanin. Nine isolates were more efficient than strain SEMIA 830, which is authorized for the production of commercial inoculants of L. glaber in Brazil. In relation to the genetic characterization, the isolates have shown no similarity with the commercial strains, indicating that in the soils of Rio Grande do Sul there are autochthonous rhizobia capable of efficient symbiotic nitrogen fixation with L. glaber, which might be recommended for field evaluations, aiming a future production of inoculants for this legume in Brazil.

A presente revisão tem por objetivo apresentar a evolução da Ciência do Solo brasileira desde seu início, descrevendo sua situação atual e delineando oportunidades e desafios para as próximas décadas. A agronomia surgiu no País como uma subárea da botânica no início do século XIX e se aproximou da química, buscando o status de ciência. Dessa aproximação surgiu a química agrícola, ainda em meados desse século, dando origem a um dos ramos da Ciência do Solo: a edafologia. O outro ramo da Ciência do Solo (pedologia) consolidou-se como conhecimento científico e foi aplicado no País em meados do século XX. Nesse período foi criada a Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, englobando todo o conhecimento dos dois ramos e aglutinando todos os cientistas que trabalhavam na área. Com a criação dos programas de pós-graduação, 20 anos depois de fundada a SBCS, a Ciência do Solo brasileira entrou na era da modernidade, e o conhecimento gerado foi fundamental para que o País atingisse o patamar atual de produtividade agrícola. Com uma comunidade de 25 departamentos de solos, 15 programas de pós-graduação e um grande número de instituições de pesquisa e de transferência de tecnologia, os cientistas de solo viabilizam soluções para o crescimento sustentável, gerando, adaptando e transferindo tecnologias em benefício do País. O solo e o conhecimento gerado pelos membros da SBCS contribuíram significativamente para que o Brasil chegasse à condição de agricultura tropical mais competitiva do planeta. Nas próximas décadas, a Ciência do Solo continuará no centro de discussão para a produção de alimentos, fibras e conservação ambiental, mas também será essencial e estratégica para assuntos como a qualidade da água, o combate à pobreza e a produção de fontes renováveis de energia.

The present essay is meant to provide some background on the evolution of the soil science community in Brazil, since its inception, to describe its current situation, and to outline a number of opportunities and challenges facing the discipline in decades to come. The origin of Brazilian agronomy dates back to the beginning of the 19th century as a subdiscipline of botany, and its association with chemistry would later establish it as a science. In the middle of the 19th century, agricultural chemistry was born as a result of this association, leading to the establishment of edaphology, a branch of Soil Science. Another branch of Soil Science, known as pedology, was established as an applied and scientific knowledge in Brazil during the middle of the 20th century. During the same period, the Brazilian Soil Science Society (SBCS) was created, merging the knowledge of both branches and gathering all scientists involved. Twenty years after the SBCS foundation, the creation of Graduate Programs made Brazilian Soil Science enter the modern era, generating crucial knowledge to reach the current levels of agricultural productivity. Part of a community composed of 25 Soil Departments, 15 Graduate Programs and a great number of institutions that promote research and technology transfer, Brazilian soil scientists are responsible for developing solutions for sustainable development, by generating, adapting and transferring technology to the benefit of the country. The knowledge produced by SBCS members has been particularly significant for Brazil to achieve the status of most competitive tropical agriculture in the world. In the future decades, Soil Science will still remain topical in discussions regarding environment care and production of food and fibers, in addition, it will be essential and strategic for certain issues, such as water quality, reducing poverty and development of renewable sources of energy.

A redução do Cr(VI) para Cr(III) diminui a toxidade deste metal no ambiente, uma vez que o Cr(III) é insolúvel às membranas biológicas. Assim, a redução microbiana do Cr(VI) é uma alternativa para reduzir os impactos ambientais causados por este metal, utilizado em diversos processos industriais. O objetivo deste trabalho foi selecionar microrganismos a partir de solo contaminado com cromo e caracterizar sua capacidade de redução do Cr(VI) durante o crescimento celular. A atividade de redução do Cr(VI) pelos isolados foi quantificada com o reagente de s-difenilcarbazida. No isolamento, foram obtidas 20 bactérias resistentes a cromo(VI); seis destas foram capazes de reduzir acima de 100mg L-1 Cr(VI) em 24 horas. As bactérias selecionadas foram eficientes na redução do Cr(VI) e apresentam potencial para outros estudos, visando à aplicação em processos de biorremediação.

The reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) decrease the toxic effect of this metal in the environment, because Cr(III) is insoluble to the biological membranes. The microbial reduction of Cr(VI) it is an alternative to reduce the environmental impacts caused by this metal used in several industrial processes. The objective of this research was to select microorganisms from chromium contaminated soil and to characterize their ability to reduce Cr(VI). The activity of reduction of Cr(VI) for the isolated was quantified with s-diphenylcarbazide. A group of 20 chromium resistant bacteria were isolated; six of these were able to reduce 100mg L-1 Cr(VI) in 24 hours. The isolated bacteria, from contaminated soil can remediate chromate and presented potential for other studies seeking their application in bioremediation processes.