Use of passive samplers to detect Organochlorine Pesticides in air and water at Wetland Mountain region sites (S-SE Brazil)

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) passive samplers were deployed in upland surface waters and the overlying atmosphere during May and June 2012, to determine the transport and trends of freely dissolved and gaseous organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) along altitudinal gradients in mountain regions in south and southeast Brazil. Gaseous OCP concentrations were dominated by hexachlorobenzene (3.0 to 29 pg.m-3) and endosulfans (Ʃ= α-endosulfan + β-endosulfan + endosulfan sulphate, 170 to 260 pg.m-3), whereas freely dissolved endosulfans were significantly higher than all other OCPs (p \u3c 0.001). The presence of some target pesticides at the highest elevation sites indicated their efficient high-altitude transport from regional sources. Air-water exchange gradients indicated net deposition of most volatile and recently banned OCPs (e.g., HCB, endosulfan) over Brazilian mountains. Moreover, the exposure of these sites to large-scale continental airflows with varying source contributions may partly explain the atmospheric deposition of selected OCPs over upland freshwaters at tropical and subtropical mountains sites in Brazil. These findings, couple with LDPE passive air and water sampling measurements, point out the potential inputs from distant sources of semi-volatile chemicals to the two high-altitude sites

The efficacy of ultrasonic and PIPS (photon-induced acoustic streaming) irrigation to remove artificially placed dentine debris plugs out of an artificial and natural root model

The aim was to validate an artificial resin ‘root canal wall groove model’ (RCWGM) mimicking the situation of natural roots with a groove of identical dimensions on debris removal out of these grooves, and to evaluate Erbium ‘laser-activated irrigation’ (LAI) with two conical tips at PIPS (photon-induced photoacoustic streaming) settings, with different activation times and different root canal positions on debris removal out of the grooves. A split RCWGM was used (resin blocks and roots of maxillary canines) with a canal size 40/0.06. The grooves in the apical third were filled with stained dentinal debris. Seventeen irrigation protocols (n = 20) were used: syringe-needle irrigation (3× 20 s), manual dynamic activation (1× 60 s), ultrasonically activated irrigation (UAI) with 25/25 Irrisafe (3× 20 s) and LAI (2940 nm Er:YAG) with X-Pulse or PIPS tips at PIPS settings (20 mJ, 50 μs, 20 Hz) and with the fibre (IN) or (OUT) the canal: IN during 1× 20 s, and OUT during 1× 20 s, 2× 20 s, 3× 20 s, 30 s, 2× 30 s and 1× 60 s. The quantity of remaining dentine debris in the groove was evaluated on a numerical scale. Statistical analysis was performed by means of proportional odds logistic regression, equivalence testing and Wald tests. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Resin models and the RCWGM with natural teeth can be called equivalent (log odds ratio 0.185). There were mostly no statistically significant differences for debris removal between UAI and LAI (p > 0.05) and between LAI with PIPS and X-Pulse (p > 0.05). Although not statistically different, the numbers of completely cleaned grooves were higher with LAI than with UAI for a 1-min activation, confirming findings from other studies. There is no difference in cleaning efficacy between X-Pulse and PIPS tips at PIPS settings. © 2019, Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature

Passive sampler-derived concentrations of PAHs in air and water along Brazilian mountain transects

The atmospheric deposition of semi-volatile organic compounds represents a potential threat to pristine mountains, in particular by persistent toxic substances which have high environmental mobility, potential for bioaccumulation and display toxic effects even at relative low concentrations. Low density polyethylene passive samplers were deployed in upland surface waters and the overlying atmosphere in subtropical and tropical mountain regions in south and southeast Brazil, respectively, to determine the concentrations, transport and sources of freely dissolved and gaseous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) along altitudinal gradients. Gaseous PAH concentrations (0.70–90 ng m −3 ) were dominated by phenanthrene and fluorene, though methylnaphthalenes displayed high concentrations at upland sites. Fluoranthene and chrysene were the most frequently detected PAHs in shallow waters (10–110 pg L −1 ). Individual PAHs indicated a wood/grass combustion origin at both national parks due to current and historical man-made fires, with a minor petrogenic fingerprint, probably due to the proximity of highway traffic and touristic activities. A slightly increasing trend of 2–3 ring PAHs was observed along tropical elevation transect which may reflect long-range atmospheric transport of more volatile PAHs over tropical elevated altitudes. However, local PAH emission sources probably explain the opposite trend detected at subtropical elevation transect

Mutations in TRPM1 Are a Common Cause of Complete Congenital Stationary Night Blindness

Congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of retinal disorders characterized by nonprogressive impaired night vision and variable decreased visual acuity. We report here that six out of eight female probands with autosomal-recessive complete CSNB (cCSNB) had mutations in TRPM1, a retinal transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channel gene. These data suggest that TRMP1 mutations are a major cause of autosomal-recessive CSNB in individuals of European ancestry. We localized TRPM1 in human retina to the ON bipolar cell dendrites in the outer plexifom layer. Our results suggest that in humans, TRPM1 is the channel gated by the mGluR6 (GRM6) signaling cascade, which results in the light-evoked response of ON bipolar cells. Finally, we showed that detailed electroretinography is an effective way to discriminate among patients with mutations in either TRPM1 or GRM6, another autosomal-recessive cCSNB disease gene. These results add to the growing importance of the diverse group of TRP channels in human disease and also provide new insights into retinal circuitry. © 2009 The American Society of Human Genetics.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe