2012Influence of temperature, light and nutrients on the growth rates of the macroalga Gracilaria domingensis in synthetic seawater using experimental design JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYCOLOGY, DORDRECHT, v. 24, n. 6, pp. 1419-1426, DEC, 2012 Abstract In the present study, the daily relative growth rates (DRGR, in percent per day) of the red macroalga Gracilaria domingensis in synthetic seawater was investigated for the combined influence of five factors, i.e., light (L), temperature (T), nitrate (N), phosphate (P), and molybdate (M), using a statistical design method. The ranges of the experimental cultivation conditions were T, 18-26°C; L, 74-162 μmol photons m −2 s . In additional, these growth rate values are close to the growth rate values in natural medium (von Stosch medium), i.e., 6.5-7.0% d −1. The results analyzed by the ANOVA indicate that the factors N and T are highly significant linear terms, X L , (α00.05). On the other hand, the only significant quadratic term (X Q ) was that for L. Statistically significant interactions between two different factors were found between T vs. L and N vs. T. Finally, a two-way (linear/quadratic interaction) model provided a quite reasonable correlation between the experimental and predicted DRGR values (R adjusted 2 00.9540).

Many factors threaten the survival of marine turtles, such as incidental capture by fisheries, habitat degradation, pollution and diseases. One of the most important diseases is fibropapillomatosis (FP), characterized by the development of benign skin tumours. FP predominantly affects juvenile green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and involves a complex multifactorial aetiology. For several years, it has been noted that the prevalence of FP tends to be higher in marine environments under the influence of human activities, leading to the hypothesis that environmental pollutants play a role in the epidemiology of this disease. Organochlorine compounds (OCs) are persistent organic pollutants with immunosuppressive and carcinogenic effects in humans and wildlife. OC levels (α-BHC, β-BHC, α-endosulphan, β-endosulphan, endosulphan sulphate, pp′-DDD, op′-DDD, pp′-DDE, op′-DDE, heptachlor, dicofol and mirex) were quantified through gas chromatography with a micro-electron capture detector (GC-μECD) in liver and fat samples from 64 juvenile green sea turtles. Specimens with and without FP were analysed, after being caught at three feeding areas off the Brazilian coast: Ubatuba, Praia Grande and Vitória. OC levels were comparable to those observed in similar studies, and no consistent difference was observed between sea turtles with and without FP. This study helps to elucidate the contamination profile in sea turtles caught at feeding areas off Brazil and confirms that green sea turtles are exposed to OCs, which may play a negative role in the health of this species.

Systematic evaluation of experimental variables in magnetic nanoparticle preparation and hybrid catalyst application in the heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process.

2 . -The process is optimized through a set of experiments (21 runs) using a Doehlert experimental design resulting in maximal e.e. -(GARIANI, R. A.; LUENGO, F. A. G.; VALE, L. A. S.; BAZITO*, R. C.; COMASSETO, J. V.; Tetrahedron Lett. 52 (2011) 26, 3336-3338, http://dx.