Pedro F. B. Brandão

Environmental occurrence of arsenic in Colombia: a review.

The international literature on the presence of arsenic (As) in Latin America does not disclose the true magnitude of the presence of As in Colombia. In this paper, we summarize the literature on As occurrence in Colombia. The data reveal that As is present in matrices such as soil, sediments and water and in the food chain. Some of the As concentrations exceed the limits specified by national and international regulations. Arsenic higher concentrations are associated with mining regions (e.g., soils, up to 148 mg/kg; sediments, up to 1400 mg/kg) and agricultural areas (e.g., vegetables, up to 5.40 mg/kg; irrigation water, up to 255 μg/L), and underscore the potential human and environmental risks associated with the presence of As in the country. This review highlights the importance of focusing research on understanding the occurrence, origin and distribution of As in Colombia to better understand its environmental and public health impact.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity oF The Ligand 3-Methylpyrazole- 4-Carboxaldehyde Thiosemicarbazone and Its Pd(II) Complex

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of a new palladium(II) complex [Pd(MePhPzTSC)2] and its corresponding ligand 3-methylpyrazole-4-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (MePhPzTSC) are described. The bidentate ligand is coordinated to Pd(II) through the azomethine nitrogen atoms and sulfur in the form of thiol by deprotonation of the NH-C = S. The antimicrobial activity of these new compounds was evaluated against gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus thuringiensis) bacteria and two yeast strains (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Coordination of the ligand to the metallic ion showed improved antimicrobial activity compared to the free ligand. For the gram-positive bacteria the antimicrobial activity of the complex was higher than that of the positive control used. [Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publishers online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the following free supplemental files: Additional figures and tables] GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Isolation and Potential Biocementation of Calcite Precipitation Inducing Bacteria from Colombian Buildings

Microbiological induced calcium carbonate or calcite precipitation (MICP) has become a highly researched issue due to its multiple applications in the construction industry, being a promising alternative with a great biotechnological importance. In this work, potential calcite precipitation inducing bacteria were isolated from mortar and concrete samples of different buildings at the National University of Colombia. Eighteen crystal-precipitating strains were recovered in Urea-CaCl2 solid medium. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified isolates as Arthrobacter, Psychrobacillus and Rhodococcus genera. It is reported, for the first time, the calcite precipitation by P. psycrodurans and R. qingshengii. Optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy showed crystals with irregular and spherical shapes, and beige and white colours. Furthermore, crystals formation appeared to be strain-specific. X-Ray diffraction analysis confirmed crystals composition as CaCO3. Biocementation tests showed that MICP treatments of mortar cubes using P. psycrodurans caused an increase in their compressive strength compared to control samples. The positive action of a native MICP strain in mortar blocks biomineralization is shown, which is of great interest and potential for the construction industry.

Tin(IV) Complexes of 1,5-Diphenylthiocarbazone and Thiosemicarbazide: Synthesis, X-Ray Characterization, and Biological Activity

Abstract The reaction of Me2SnCl2 with dithizone or thiosemicarbazide produced two novel di-organotin derivatives in good yields, which were characterized by X-ray diffraction. The crystal structures show that the compounds present a distorted pentacoordinated tin(IV) metal center. The antimicrobial activity of the new compounds was studied against Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella enteritidis) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria, and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It was observed that the coordination of tin metal has a pronounced effect on the microbial activities of the ligands. All the tin complexes have shown higher antimicrobial effect than the free ligands. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Stable and Enriched Cenarchaeum symbiosum and Uncultured Betaproteobacteria HF1 in the Microbiome of the Mediterranean Sponge Haliclona fulva (Demospongiae: Haplosclerida)

Sponges harbor characteristic microbiomes derived from symbiotic relationships shaping their lifestyle and survival. Haliclona fulva is encrusting marine sponge species dwelling in coralligenous accretions or semidark caves of the Mediterranean Sea and the near Atlantic Ocean. In this work, we characterized the abundance and core microbial community composition found in specimens of H. fulva by means of electron microscopy and 16S amplicon Illumina sequencing. We provide evidence of its low microbial abundance (LMA) nature. We found that the H. fulva core microbiome is dominated by sequences belonging to the orders Nitrosomonadales and Cenarchaeales. Seventy percent of the reads assigned to these phylotypes grouped in a very small number of high-frequency operational taxonomic units, representing niche-specific species Cenarchaeum symbiosum and uncultured Betaproteobacteria HF1, a new eubacterial ribotype variant found in H. fulva. The microbial composition of H. fulva is quite distinct from those reported in sponge species of the same Haliclona genus. We also detected evidence of an excretion/capturing loop between these abundant microorganisms and planktonic microbes by analyzing shifts in seawater planktonic microbial content exposed to healthy sponge specimens maintained in aquaria. Our results suggest that horizontal transmission is very likely the main mechanism for symbionts’ acquisition by H. fulva. So far, this is the first shallow water sponge species harboring such a specific and predominant assemblage composed of these eubacterial and archaeal ribotypes. Our data suggests that this symbiotic relationship is very stable over time, indicating that the identified core microbial symbionts may play key roles in the holobiont functioning.

Di-μ(2)-chlorido-dichloridoocta-methyldi-μ(3)-oxido-tetra-tin(IV) bis[chloridodimeth-yl(pyrrolidine-1-carbodithio-ato-κ(2)S,S')tin(IV)].

In the title co-crystal, [Sn4(CH3)8Cl4O2]·2[Sn(CH3)2Cl(C4H8NS2)], all the SnIV atoms are in distorted trigonal–bipyramidal environments. In the mononuclear species, the carbodithioate ligand is unsymmetrically coordinated to the SnIV atom, with Sn—S distances of 2.6722 (12) and 2.4706 (11) Å. All atoms with the exception of the methyl groups and one of the pyrrolidine ring CH2 groups lie on a crystallographic mirror plane. The pyrrolidine ring exhibits an envelope conformation; the C atom at the flap is disordered above and below the plane of symmetry with fixed occupation factors of 0.50. The centrosymmetric dimer species consists of a central Sn2O2 unit with two adjacent Sn2OCl four-membered rings.