Suchergebnisse

The main objective of this research is to analyze how public policies in Brazil are interconnected to prevent and eradicate child labor. It seeks to understand the legal protection against the exploitation of child labor, explore the Program for the Eradication of Child Labor and the National Policy related to it, and examine the responsibilities of the entities of the Rights Guarantee System in combating this issue. The central question of the research is: how does intersectoral coordination of public policies for this purpose occur in Brazil? The initial hypothesis suggests that there is a shared responsibility between the bodies of the Rights Guarantee System, organized through care, protection and justice policies, enabling joint and networked action through the National Plan and the Child Labour Eradication Programme, aimed at combating the causes and effects of child labour exploitation. The method used was deductive and monographic, using documentary and bibliographic research techniques.

The use of metal tolerant plants for the phytostabilization of metal contaminated soil is an area of extensive research and development. In this study the effects of inoculation of Ni-resistant bacterial strains on phytostabilization potential of various plants, including Brassica juncea, Luffa cylindrica and Sorghum halepense, were studied. A Ni-resistant bacterial strain SR28C was isolated from a nickel rich serpentine soil and identified as Bacillus megaterium based on the morphological features, biochemical characteristics and partial 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strain SR28C tolerated concentrations up to 1200 mg Ni L 1 on a LuriaeBertani (LB) agar medium. Besides, it showed high degree of resistance to various metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Cr) and antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, penicillin and kanamycin) tested. In addition, the strain bound considerable amounts of Ni in their resting cells. Besides, the strain exhibited the plant growth promoting traits, such as solubilization of phosphate and production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in modified Pikovskayas medium and LB medium, respectively in the absence and presence of Ni. Considering such potential, the effects of SR28C on the growth and Ni accumulation of B. juncea, L. cylindrica and S. halepense, were assessed with different concentrations of Ni in soil. Inoculation of SR28C stimulated the biomass of the test plants grown in both Ni contaminated and non-contaminated soils. Further, SR28C alleviated the detrimental effects of Ni by reducing its uptake and translocation to the plants. This study suggested that the PGPB inoculant due to its intrinsic abilities of growth promotion and attenuation of the toxic effects of Ni could be exploited for phytostabilization of Ni contaminated site. ; M. Rajkumar acknowledges the financial support received in the form of Ramalingaswami re-entry fellowship from Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Y. Ma thankfully acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for awarding a post-doctoral research grant (SFRH/BPD/ 76028/2011).

The invasion success of the leguminous tree Acacia dealbata Link has been related to the release of novel chemical compounds that affect both native plant performance and native soil bacterial communities. However, the allelopathic effect of A. dealbata on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) has not been explored. We used natural leachates from invasive A. dealbata and native soils to assess the bioactivity of these chemicals on AMF colonization of Plantago lanceolata in native soils. The highly mycorrhizal P. lanceolata was used as a model-test species to estimate the infectivity of AM fungi. Acacia leachates did not affect mycorrhizal colonization in any of the native soils studied. Either the leachates released by A. dealbata do not have an antifungal effect or the analyzed soils contained AMF species resistant to those allelochemicals. Our results appeal for further research to elucidate the role of native AMF in the invasion process of A. dealbata. ; This work was supported by the project MUTUALNET (PTDC/BIA BEC/103507/2008), from the European Union and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and by post-doctoral research grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Educación (Programa Nacional de Movilidad de Recursos Humanos del Plan Nacional de I-Dþi 2008e2011, Ref. EX2010-1169) awarded to Paula Lorenzo.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of metal mobilizing plant-growth beneficial bacterium Phyllobacterium myrsinacearum RC6b on plant growth and Cd, Zn and Pb uptake by Sedum plumbizincicola under laboratory conditions. Among a collection of metal-resistant bacteria, P. myrsinacearum RC6b was specifically chosen as a most favorable metal mobilizer based on its capability of mobilizing high concentrations of Cd, Zn and Pb in soils. P. myrsinacearum RC6b exhibited a high degree of resistance to Cd (350 mg L 1), Zn (1000 mg L 1) and Pb (1200 mg L 1). Furthermore, P. myrsinacearum RC6b showed multiple plant growth beneficial features including the production of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid deaminase, indole-3-acetic acid, siderophore and solubilization of insoluble phosphate. Inoculation of P. myrsinacearum RC6b significantly increased S. plumbizincicola growth and organ metal concentrations except Pb, which concentration was lower in root and stem of inoculated plants. The results suggest that the metal mobilizing P. myrsinacearum RC6b could be used as an effective inoculant for the improvement of phytoremediation in multi-metal polluted soils. ; Y. Ma thankfully acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for awarding a post-doctoral research grant (SFRH/BPD/76028/2011). M. Rajkumar acknowledges the financial support received in the form of Ramalingaswami re-entry fellowship from Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.

Invasive species are one of the main causes for the loss of global biodiversity. However, the mechanisms that explain the success of invasive species remain unsolved. Clonal growth has been pointed out as an attribute that could contribute to the invasiveness of plants, however little research has been conducted to determine the importance of clonal traits in successful invaders. One of the most interesting attributes related to clonal growth is the capacity for division of labour. In this experiment we investigated the capacity for division of labour in the aggressive invader Carpobrotus edulis, and how clonal integration can contribute to the expansion of this species. Division of labour was determined by studying the degree of morphological and physiological specialization of individual ramets to a specific activity: acquisition of soil or aboveground resources and aboveground expansion. Our results showed that there is division of labour in the clonal fragments, with older ramets increasing the biomass allocated to roots (specialization in the uptake of belowground resources) and younger ramets increasing the chlorophyll content and aboveground biomass (specialization in the uptake of aboveground resources). Physiological integration allows division of labour, and as consequence the overall performance of the clonal fragment was enhanced, with connected clonal fragments showing a higher total biomass than severed clonal fragments. Division of labour increased the aboveground growth of apical ramets of C. edulis, and therefore could contribute to an effective colonization of the surrounding area by this aggressive invader. Our study is the first exploring the role of division of labour in the expansion of an invader, and supports the idea that clonal traits could increase the invasiveness of plant species. ; S. R. R. was financed by a grant of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) (Reference: SFRH/BPD/79599/2011) co-funded by the European Social Fund of the European Union.