La violencia se define jurídicamente desde dos ángulos distintos; en la teoría de las obligaciones, consiste en la coacción física o moral que una persona ejerce sobre otra, con el objeto de que ésta le otorgue su consentimiento para la celebración de un acto jurídico que, por su libre voluntad, no hubiera otorgado. Por otro lado, la violencia se entiende como la conducta de una persona (agresor), que atenta o ataca a otra u otras, en su integridad física, psíquica o ambas. 2 En los años recientes, la violencia ha llegado a ser reconocida como un objeto de preocupación, tanto dentro de la esfera nacional como de la internacional. En nuestros días, los crímenes violentos afectan varios aspectos de la vida moderna, por ejemplo, la calidad de vida y los niveles de salud de los individuos, así como la situación económica, política y social de los países. De acuerdo con los diferentes organismos internacionales, vivimos en una de las regiones más violentas del mundo 3 en una época particularmente peligrosa. 4 83

Natural mycoflora and co-occurrence of fumonisins (FB 1 , FB 2 ) and aflatoxins (AFB 1 , AFB 2 , AFG 1 and AFG 2 ) in freshly harvested corn grain samples from four regions of Brazil were investigated. Fusarium verticillioides was predominant in all samples. Analysis of fumonisins showed that 98% of the samples were contaminated with FB 1 and 74.5% with FB 1 + FB 2 , with toxin levels ranging from 0.015 to 9.67 µg/g for FB 1 and from 0.015 to 3.16 µg/g for FB 2 . Twenty-one (10.5%) samples were contaminated with AFB 1 , seven (3.5%) with AFB 2 and only one (0.5%) with AFG 1 and AFG 2 . Co-contamination with aflatoxins and fumonisins was observed in 7% of the samples. The highest contamination of fumonisins and aflatoxins was observed in Nova Odessa (SP) and Várzea Grande (MT), respectively. The lowest contamination of these mycotoxins was found in Várzea Grande and Nova Odessa, respectively.

Gibberella moniliformis is most commonly associated with maize worldwide and produces high levels of fumonisins, some of the most agriculturally important mycotoxins. Studies demonstrate that molecular methods can be helpful for a rapid identification of Fusarium species and their levels of toxin production. The purpose of this research was to apply molecular methods (AFLP, TEF-1α partial gene sequencing and PCR based on MAT alleles) for the identification of Fusarium species isolated from Brazilian corn and to verify if real time RT-PCR technique based on FUM1 and FUM19 genes is appropriated to estimate fumonisins B 1 and B 2 production levels. Among the isolated strains, 96 were identified as Fusarium verticillioides, and four as other Fusarium species. Concordant phylogenies were obtained by AFLP and TEF-1α sequencing, permitting the classification of the different species into distinct clades. Concerning MAT alleles, 70% of the F. verticillioides isolates carried the MAT-1 and 30% MAT-2. A significant correlation was observed between the expression of the genes and toxin production r = 0.95 and r = 0.79 (correlation of FUM1 with FB 1 and FB 2 , respectively, P b 0.0001); r = 0.93 and r = 0.78 (correlation of FUM19 with FB 1 and FB 2 , respectively, P b 0.0001). Molecular methods used in this study were found to be useful for the rapid identification of Fusarium species. The high and significant correlation between FUM1 and FUM19 expression and fumonisins production suggests that real time RT-PCR is suitable for studies considering the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on expression of these genes. This is the first report concerning the expression of fumonisin biosynthetic genes in Fusarium strains isolated from Brazilian agricultural commodity.

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of different gamma radiation doses on the growth of Alternaria alternata and on the production of toxins alternariol (AOH), and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) in sunflower seed samples. After irradiation with 2, 5 and 7 kGy, the spore mass was resuspended in sterile distilled water and the suspension was inoculated into sunflower seeds. The number of colony-forming units per gram (CFU/g) was determined after culture on Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol and Dichloran Chloramphenicol Malt Extract Agar. The presence of AOH and AME was investigated by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The radiation doses used resulted in a reduction of the number of A. alternata CFU/g and of AOH and AME levels when compared to the nonirradiated control group. Maximum reduction of the fungus (98.5%) and toxins (99.9%) was observed at a dose of 7 and 5 kGy, respectively. Under the present conditions, gamma radiation was found to be an alternative for the control of A. alternata and, consequently, of AOH and AME production in sunflower seeds.

The consumption of medicinal plants has increased during the last years. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and identify fungi specimens present in samples of Cassia acutifolia Delile (20) (sene) and Peumus boldus (Molina) Lyons (Boldo-do-Chile) (20), that were purchased in drugstores and markets of Campinas, Brazil, by usual methods. The results showed that 45% of samples did not fit the minimum quality standards recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). No differences were observed in the quantitative analysis between the samples sold at the drugstores and at the markets. The identified genera and species of fungi were: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Phoma, Cladosporium, Trichoderma, Rhizopus, Mucor, Aureobasidium pullulans, Mycelia sterilia, Acremonium and Monilia sitophila. Considering the level of contamination and the presence of Aspergillus and Penicillium, which are able to produce mycotoxins, there is an urgent need for quality control of the phytotherapic products in order to assure their efficacy and safety.

This letter reports a measurement of the muon charge asymmetry from W bosons produced in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. The asymmetry is measured in the W → µν decay mode as a function of the muon pseudorapidity using a data sample corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 31 pb −1 . The results are compared to predictions based on next-to-leading order calculations with various parton distribution functions. This measurement provides information on the u and d quark momentum fractions in the proton.