Development of a sequential injection system for the determination of nitrite and nitrate in waters with different salinity: Application to estuaries in NW Portugal

In this work, a sequential injection methodology for monitoring nitrite and nitrate in estuarine waters without any previous treatment is described. The developed system was applied to the measurement of nitrite and nitrate in estuarine waters of three rivers in the NW Portugal, allowing an automatic, fast (ca 60 h 1) and precise method (relative standard deviation lower than 2%). The procedure was based on the reaction between nitrite, sulfanilamide and N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine dihydrochloride (N1NED), whereas the determination of nitrate resulted from its reduction to nitrite, using an in-line cadmium column, followed by the same reaction. The samples were collected in three locations for each river (Douro, C avado and Ave) covering the lower, middle and upper section of the estuaries. Despite the presence of a salinity gradient, this parameter showed no interference in the accuracy of the determinations. The results obtained for the described method for nitrite were statistically comparable to those obtained by the reference procedure. For the determination of nitrate, recovery tests confirmed that the sequential injection methodology provided good quality results.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nasal polyposis : more than a chronic inflammatory disorder : a disease of mechanical dysfunction : the São Paulo position

Introduction The importance of our study lies in the fact that we have demonstrated the occurrence of mechanical dysfunction within polypoid tissues, which promotes the development of polyps in the nasal cavity. Objective To change the paradigm of nasal polyposis (NP). In this new conception, the chronic nasal inflammatory process that occurs in response to allergies, to pollution, to changes in the epithelial barrier, or to other factors is merely the trigger of the development of the disease in individuals with a genetic predisposition to an abnormal tissue remodeling process, which leads to a derangement of the mechanical properties of the nasal mucosa and, consequently, allows it to grow unchecked. Data Synthesis We propose a fundamentally new approach to intervening in the pathological process of NP, addressing biomechanical properties, fluid dynamics, and the concept of surface tension. Conclusion The incorporation of biomechanical knowledge into our understanding of NP provides a new perspective to help elucidate the physiology and the pathology of nasal polyps, and new avenues for the treatment and cure of NP

"Eu vim para que todos tenham vida e vida em abundância". Um estudo comparativo de aconselhamento religioso em três vertentes religiosas brasileiras

Even so the shelter of psychological demands in religious environment is not, in general, carried through for psychologists,can be spoken of Religious Counseling as a modality of Psychological Counseling. The objective of this work was to compare counseling carried through in three religious contexts (protestantism, catolicism and kardecism). For this, two members of each religious source were interviewed. The three religions have in common the appraise for hearing instead of the speech and the judgement, the existence of schedules marked for the attendance and the paper of the secrecy as an ethical principle. The main differences are related to the way that the social taboos are boarded, depending of the underlying moral positioning. The trend to the shelter in coexistence with the educative and ethical function of the religion, the unconcern of psychology with the human being’s spiritual dimension, the possibility of incorporation of the “religious professionals” in the effort of humanistic and holistic attendance and the necessity of future research is quarrel subjects.Embora o acolhimento de demandas psicológicas em seio religioso não seja, em geral, realizado por psicólogos, pode-se falar de Aconselhamento Religioso como uma modalidade de Aconselhamento Psicológico. O objetivo deste trabalho foi comparar o aconselhamento realizado em três contextos religiosos (protestantismo, catolicismo e kardecismo). Para isso, foram entrevistados dois membros de cada vertente religiosa. As três religiões comungam do apreço pelo ouvir em vez do falar e julgar, da existência de horários marcados para o atendimento e do papel do sigilo como princípio ético. As principais diferenças referemse à maneira como os tabus sociais são abordados, devido ao posicionamento moral subjacente. A tendência ao acolhimento em co-existência com a função educativa e ética da religião, o descompromisso da psicologia com a dimensão espiritual do ser humano, a possibilidade de incorporação dos “profissionais religiosos” no esforço de atendimento humanizado e holístico e a necessidade de pesquisas futuras são temas de discussão.A pesar del recibimiento de demandas psicológicas en el seno religioso no sea, en general, realizado por psicólogos, se puede decir que el Asesoramiento Religioso es una modalidad de Asesoramiento Psicológico. El objetivo de este trabajo fue comparar el asesoramiento realizado en tres contextos religiosos (protestantismo, catolicismo y kardecismo). Por eso, fueron entrevistados dos miembros de cada vertiente religiosa. Las tres religiones comulgan del aprecio por oír en vez de hablar y juzgar, de la existencia de horarios marcados para la atención y del rol del sigilo como principio ético. Las principales diferencias se refieren al modo como los tabúes sociales son abordados, debido a la postura moral subyacente. Son temas de discusión: la tendencia al recibimiento en coexistencia con la función educativa y la ética de la religión, el no comprometimiento de la psicología con la dimensión espiritual del ser humano, la posibilidad de incorporación de los “profesionales religiosos” en el esfuerzo de la atención humanizada y holística y la necesidad de investigaciones futura

Building Sustainable Development through Technology Transfer Offices: An Approach Based on Levels of Maturity

This study focuses on how technology transfer offices’ (TTO) maturity level influences sustainable development in developing countries. A method for defining the maturity level of technology transfer offices was developed based on criteria, dimensions and variables from a comprehensive literature review. Technology transfer specialists were responsible for attaching weight to elements using the multicriteria method, fuzzy simple additive weighting. Results provided an important overview of 105 Brazilian TTOs, their maturity level and the impact on sustainable development

Development of a sequential injection gas diffusion system for the determination of ammonium in transitional and coastal waters

This work describes the development of a sequential injection system for the ammonium determination in transitional and coastal waters with a wide salinity range. Estuarine waters are rather complex matrices as their characteristics change considerably along the salinity gradient, as well as the ammonium levels. The developed system effectively solves these issues by converting ammonium into ammonia and using a gas diffusion unit (GDU) for matrix removal. The ammonium determination in a wide quantification range (0.1–5.0 mg L−1) was obtained with small changes in the protocol sequence and was applied, not only to estuarine samples, but also well water samples (low salinity) and coastal waters (higher salinity). Spectrophotometry was the chosen detection system to measure the absorbance change in the bromothymol blue acid base indicator caused by the diffusion of ammonia through the GDU. Additionally, the developed system used a green chemistry approach, as there was no indicator reagent consumption per determination, still maintaining a good precision (relative standard deviation lower than 2%) and a low detection limit, 27 μg L−1 (1.5 μM).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Suppurative Meningoencephalitis by <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> from Direct Extension of Chronic Otitis in a Gir Cow

This paper aims to report clinical, laboratory and pathological features in a case of suppurative meningoencephalitis by P. aeruginosa from the direct extension of chronic otitis in a Gir cow. The cow was recumbent during physical examination, and neurological examination revealed depression, absence of left eyelid and auricular motor reflex, and hypotonic tongue. Hematology revealed hemoconcentration, leukocytosis by neutrophilia, and hyperfibrinogenemia. Cerebrospinal fluid was slightly turbid, and presented polymorphonuclear pleocytosis, and hyperproteinorrachia. Grossly, the skull floor showed a purulent green–yellow exudate that drained from the left inner ear to the cisterna magna. There was diffuse congestion of the telencephalon, and meninges showed severe hyperemia, moderate thickening, and opacity with the deposition of fibrinosuppurative material ventrally, extending to the cerebellum and brainstem. The left cerebellar hemisphere showed an approximately 1.5 cm in diameter liquefaction area surrounded by a hemorrhagic halo. Histologically, cerebellar, mesencephalic, thalamic, and brain base meninges were intensely thickened and showed severe suppurative inflammation and fibrin deposition. Small multifocal suppurative areas were observed in the cerebellum and brainstem, characterized by a necrotic core, a number of neutrophils, and Gram-negative intralesional bacillary myriads. Pure cultures of P. aeruginosa were obtained and identified in the suppurative CNS lesions, meninges, and inner ear samples. This report highlights an uncommon clinical evolution of secondary P. aeruginosa suppurative meningoencephalitis, probably triggered by recurrent parasitic otitis in an adult Gir cow. Veterinarians, practitioners, and farmers must be aware of the risk of CNS infections after unresolved media and inner otitis, especially in cattle breeds more prone to developing parasitic otitis, such as the Gir and Indubrasil breeds

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and p53 protein expression are interdependent in breast cancer but not associated with clinico-pathological surrogate subtypes, tumor aggressiveness and patient survival

In the last decade, different molecular subtypes of breast cancer have been proposed. Although displaying appreciable association with disease prognosis and the prognostic value of cytotoxic and endocrine therapeutic modalities, the subtypes seem to fail at completely explaining disease behavior and response to treatment. Molecules such as those of the cyclocooxigenase (COX) family, currently composed of three entities (COX 1, 2 and 3) have been shown to be associated with breast carcinogenesis, and the analysis of p53 expression in breast tumors may also offer some additional prognostic clues. Our study is aimed at assessing COX2 and p53 expression in these clinico-pathological surrogate subtypes, and to evaluate whether the expression of these molecules can help further explain the variability in prognosis still found within the clinico-pathological subtypes groups of breast cancer. Methods: A total of 183 breast cancer samples were obtained from women treated at the Womenis Hospital of Campinas State University, Campinas, Brazil, between June 2008 and January 2011. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression of ER, PR, ki67, COX2, and p53 and the HER2 status of the 183 specimens was assessed using FISH. Two COX2 staining thresholds were used to define COX2 positivity: low threshold (LT): moderate and intense staining were considered positive; high-threshold (HT): only intense staining was considered positive. Results: There was no trend in COX2 overexpression from Luminal A-like to Triple-negative subtypes. By contrast, p53 was expressed in roughly 67% of the Luminal A-like tumors, 50% of the Luminal B-like HER2 positive tumors, 60.9% of the Luminal B-like HER2 negative, approximately 82% of the HER2 positive (non-luminal) and 87% of the Triple-negative tumors (p for trends = 0.06). There was a significantly higher proportion of COX2 positive (LT) tumors (66.9%) when p53 was also positive compared to when the tumor was negative for p53 (in which case only 18.0% of the tumors were positive for COX2; p<0.001). Neither marker was found to be associated with patients' survival. Conclusions: There seems to be a positive association between the expressions of COX2 and p53. Otherwise, neither the expression of COX nor that of p53 was associated with clinico-pathological subtypes, tumor features and prognosis. It seems to be too early to elect the detection of COX2 using IHC as prognostic or predictive tool, but incipient evidence points toward a possible role for the marker1182176182FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2009/17097-