Design of Experiments Applied to Antibiotics Degradation by Fenton’s Reagent

Advanced oxidation technologies (AOTs) are processes affected by a large number of parameters such as iron (Fe2+) and H2O2 concentrations, pH, temperature, light intensity and chemical composition (organics and inorganics). In addition, for different industrial chemical processes, there are different effluents, which greatly vary in chemical composition from each other, not allowing a unique approach for all of them. Thus, it is necessary to adjust AOT parameters to the specific effluent to be treated. In such context, statistical design of experiments (DoE) and response surface methodology (RSM) emerge as important and widely used tools to determine the effects of multiple variables on wastewater treatment processes such as photo-Fenton. A revision of academic studies based on degradation of antibiotics-containing effluents is presented. The chapter also presents commercial cases of AOT and electrical efficiency considerations

Microbiological quality and physicochemical characterization of Brazilian bee pollen

Bee Research Association. Sixty-two commercial samples of dehydrated bee pollen (Apis mellifera bees) collected in Brazil (eight states and the Federal District) were analyzed for commercial quality (moisture, ash, lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates), and hygiene (aerobic mesophiles, yeasts and molds, coliforms, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and sulfite-reducing Clostridium). The analyzed samples were within the regulatory limits established by the legislation for ash, lipid and protein, except for moisture content. The analyzed hygiene parameters evaluated for bee pollen are not regulated by the Brazilian legislation, and the data discussed can contribute to regulatory agencies. Only moderate and weak correlations were observed between dehydrated pollen samples and the parameters evaluated.This work was supported by the Sa˜o Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [grant number 2009/52163–5]; Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brazilian bee pollen: phenolic content, antioxidant properties and antimicrobial activity

Bee pollen has been promoted as a dietary supplement for humans due to its nutritional and bioactive properties. Sixty-two samples of Apis mellifera dehydrated bee pollen collected in Brazil (eight states and Federal District) were analyzed for phenolic compounds, flavonoids, antioxidant activity using DPPH, β-carotene and ORAC methods, and antimicrobial activity. The values obtained for total phenolic compounds ranged from 12.60 to 84.22 mg GAE/g bee pollen while total flavonoids oscillated between 1.90 and 36.85 mg quercetin/g bee pollen. The IC50 ranged from 0.35 to 13.42 mg bee pollen/mL of extract. The inhibition percentages ranged from 52.58 to 98.37% of bee pollen extract using the β-carotene method. When measured by the ORAC method, antioxidant activity was between 132.98 and 575.85 μmols eq. Trolox/g bee pollen. Bee pollen efficiently inhibited the growth of all the microorganisms studied. Candida albicans was the most resistant, while Staphylococcus epidermides was the most sensitive.This work was supported by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP); under Grant #2009/52163-5 (thesis doctoral project) the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES); and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diretriz da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia sobre Diagnóstico e Tratamento de Pacientes com Cardiomiopatia da Doença de Chagas

This guideline aimed to update the concepts and formulate the standards of conduct and scientific evidence that support them, regarding the diagnosis and treatment of the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease, with special emphasis on the rationality base that supported it.  Chagas disease in the 21st century maintains an epidemiological pattern of endemicity in 21 Latin American countries. Researchers and managers from endemic and non-endemic countries point to the need to adopt comprehensive public health policies to effectively control the interhuman transmission of T. cruzi infection, and to obtain an optimized level of care for already infected individuals, focusing on diagnostic and therapeutic opportunistic opportunities.   Pathogenic and pathophysiological mechanisms of the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease were revisited after in-depth updating and the notion that necrosis and fibrosis are stimulated by tissue parasitic persistence and adverse immune reaction, as fundamental mechanisms, assisted by autonomic and microvascular disorders, was well established. Some of them have recently formed potential targets of therapies.  The natural history of the acute and chronic phases was reviewed, with enhancement for oral transmission, indeterminate form and chronic syndromes. Recent meta-analyses of observational studies have estimated the risk of evolution from acute and indeterminate forms and mortality after chronic cardiomyopathy. Therapeutic approaches applicable to individuals with Indeterminate form of Chagas disease were specifically addressed. All methods to detect structural and/or functional alterations with various cardiac imaging techniques were also reviewed, with recommendations for use in various clinical scenarios. Mortality risk stratification based on the Rassi score, with recent studies of its application, was complemented by methods that detect myocardial fibrosis.  The current methodology for etiological diagnosis and the consequent implications of trypanonomic treatment deserved a comprehensive and in-depth approach. Also the treatment of patients at risk or with heart failure, arrhythmias and thromboembolic events, based on pharmacological and complementary resources, received special attention. Additional chapters supported the conducts applicable to several special contexts, including t. cruzi/HIV co-infection, risk during surgeries, in pregnant women, in the reactivation of infection after heart transplantation, and others.     Finally, two chapters of great social significance, addressing the structuring of specialized services to care for individuals with the Cardiomyopathy of Chagas disease, and reviewing the concepts of severe heart disease and its medical-labor implications completed this guideline.Esta diretriz teve como objetivo principal atualizar os conceitos e formular as normas de conduta e evidências científicas que as suportam, quanto ao diagnóstico e tratamento da CDC, com especial ênfase na base de racionalidade que a embasou. A DC no século XXI mantém padrão epidemiológico de endemicidade em 21 países da América Latina. Investigadores e gestores de países endêmicos e não endêmicos indigitam a necessidade de se adotarem políticas abrangentes, de saúde pública, para controle eficaz da transmissão inter-humanos da infecção pelo T. cruzi, e obter-se nível otimizado de atendimento aos indivíduos já infectados, com foco em oportunização diagnóstica e terapêutica. Mecanismos patogênicos e fisiopatológicos da CDC foram revisitados após atualização aprofundada e ficou bem consolidada a noção de que necrose e fibrose sejam estimuladas pela persistência parasitária tissular e reação imune adversa, como mecanismos fundamentais, coadjuvados por distúrbios autonômicos e microvasculares. Alguns deles recentemente constituíram alvos potenciais de terapêuticas. A história natural das fases aguda e crônica foi revista, com realce para a transmissão oral, a forma indeterminada e as síndromes crônicas. Metanálises recentes de estudos observacionais estimaram o risco de evolução a partir das formas aguda e indeterminada e de mortalidade após instalação da cardiomiopatia crônica. Condutas terapêuticas aplicáveis aos indivíduos com a FIDC foram abordadas especificamente. Todos os métodos para detectar alterações estruturais e/ou funcionais com variadas técnicas de imageamento cardíaco também foram revisados, com recomendações de uso nos vários cenários clínicos. Estratificação de risco de mortalidade fundamentada no escore de Rassi, com estudos recentes de sua aplicação, foi complementada por métodos que detectam fibrose miocárdica. A metodologia atual para diagnóstico etiológico e as consequentes implicações do tratamento tripanossomicida mereceram enfoque abrangente e aprofundado. Também o tratamento de pacientes em risco ou com insuficiência cardíaca, arritmias e eventos tromboembólicos, baseado em recursos farmacológicos e complementares, recebeu especial atenção. Capítulos suplementares subsidiaram as condutas aplicáveis a diversos contextos especiais, entre eles o da co-infecção por T. cruzi/HIV, risco durante cirurgias, em grávidas, na reativação da infecção após transplante cardíacos, e outros.    Por fim, dois capítulos de grande significado social, abordando a estruturação de serviços especializados para atendimento aos indivíduos com a CDC, e revisando os conceitos de cardiopatia grave e suas implicações médico-trabalhistas completaram esta diretriz.&nbsp

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Degradation of amicarbazone herbicide by direct photolysis and H2O2/UV in an annular coaxial photochemical reactor.

A amicarbazona constitui-se em um herbicida do grupo das triazolinonas, desenvolvida para substituir a atrazina no mercado mundial. Diversas tecnologias têm sido estudadas objetivando a remoção de pesticidas de efluentes aquosos, procurando estudar os mecanismos de degradação envolvidos e o grau de toxicidade dos fotoprodutos gerados. Neste sentido, este trabalho tem como objetivo principal o estudo de degradação do princípio ativo amicarbazona, em solução aquosa, por fotólise direta, propondo estruturas químicas de produtos de transformação em um estudo teórico-fundamental. Foram avaliados parâmetros como concentração de herbicida, pH do meio reacional, concentração de oxigênio dissolvido, concentração de nitrato e de isopropanol como supressor de radicais livres. Dentre os parâmetros avaliados no processo de fotólise, o valor do pH do meio reacional influencia consideravelmente o mecanismo de fotodegradação do herbicida amicarbazona, favorecendo ou desfavorecendo a formação de determinado intermediário. Verificou-se que a molécula de amicarbazona gera como produto de degradação primário a molécula de amicarbazole, principalmente em meio ácido, como resultado de mecanismo de deaminação. Por sua vez, a utilização de processo UV/H2O2 foi capaz de proporcionar degradação completa da amicarbazona em tempo reacional máximo de 60 minutos. Contudo, mesmo com a utilização de agente oxidante auxiliar, não houve mineralização completa da amicarbazona, havendo 58% de redução de carbono orgânico dissolvido na melhor condição experimental estudada.Amicarbazone is a triazolinone herbicide developed to substitute atrazine in the world market. Several technologies have been studied aiming at the removal of pesticides from wastewater, seeking to study the degradation mechanisms involved and the degree of toxicity of the photoproducts formed. In this context, the main goal of this work is to study the degradation of amicarbazone in aqueous solution by direct photolysis, suggesting possible chemical structures for the transformation products according to a theoretical and fundamental approach. Parameters such as herbicide concentration, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, nitrate concentration, and propan-2-ol as a free radical scavenger were considered. Among the parameters studied in the photolysis process, the pH showed influence on the photochemical mechanism of amicarbazone degradation, favoring or not the formation of particular intermediates. It was found that the photolysis generates amicarbazole as the primary degradation product in acidic medium as a result of the deamination mechanism. The use of UV/H2O2 process enabled the complete degradation of amicarbazone in a reaction time of 60 minutes at most. However, even with the use of the auxiliary oxidant reactant, the complete mineralization of amicarbazone was not achieved, with 58% reduction of dissolved organic carbon in the best experimental condition studied

Homogeneous catalytic ozonation of leachate from Guaratinguetá - SP landfill, using the ions Fe2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ e Cr3+

Durante anos, o lixo da cidade de Guaratinguetá foi aterrado e o seu produto recalcitrante não passou por nenhum tratamento físico ou mesmo químico, percolando diretamente sob o aterro. Mesmo tendo sido desativado e transformado em Parque Ecológico, o material depositado no local ao longo dos anos, continuará a ser decomposto por microrganismos e continuará a ser produzido o lixiviado como fonte de poluição ambiental. Inicialmente, fez-se a caracterização do chorume \"in natura\", demonstrando-se como fonte de matéria orgânica recalcitrante, com massa molar característica de macromoléculas (5,58 kDa e polidispersidade de 1,16), DBO não determinável pela recalcitrância molecular e/ou pela ação tóxica e DQO característica de lixiviado estabilizado (1.013 mg L-1). A fração inorgânica total, dada pela quantidade de sólidos fixos, foi de 3.670 mg L-1, valor esse 3,6 vezes maior que a fração orgânica. O estudo de tratamento do chorume, por ozonização catalítica homogênea foi desenvolvido, principalmente, pelo uso seqüencial de dois arranjos ortogonais de Taguchi, sendo o primeiro, matriz L16, para estudo exploratório dos fatores mais importantes na redução percentual da DQO. Os fatores estudados foram vazão de ozônio, concentração dos íons Fe2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ e Cr3+, pH do meio reacional e presença/ausência de fonte de radiação UV (254 nm). Dentre os metais de transição, os íons Fe2+ e Fe3+ demonstraram-se como mais viáveis como catalisadores na geração de radicais livres hidroxilas devido à sua significância estatística (p = 0,005), e por terem maior tolerância ao descarte no meio ambiente (menor toxicidade) frente aos demais íons. Com a utilização do arranjo ortogonal L8 de Taguchi, foi possível atingir degradação máxima de DQO da ordem de 50 %. A melhor configuração dos fatores, visando aumentar o percentual de redução da DQO foi: vazão de ozônio igual a 5 L h-1 (589,9 mg h-1 O3), concentração de íon de íon ferroso igual a 10 mg L-1, concentração de íon férrico igual a 5 mg L-1 e pH 5.During many years, the garbage of Guaratinguetá city was landfilled and its recalcitrant product was not submitted to any physical or chemical treatment, leaching directly through the area. After deactivating and transforming the landfill into an Ecological Park, the material deposited in the place by the past years, will continue being decomposed by microorganisms and will continue producing the leached one as a mean of environment pollution. Initially, the leachate \"in natura\" was characterized, demonstrating itself as a source of recalcitrant organic substance with a higher molecular size characteristic of 5,58 kDa and polidispersity of 1,16 and stabilized effluent (not determinable DBO due to molecular recalcitrance and/or toxicity and DQO of 1,013 mg L-1). The total inorganic fraction, given by the amount of total fixed solids was 3,670 mg L-1, which means 3,6 times bigger than the organic fraction. The study of leachate treatment by homogeneous catalytic ozonation was given, mainly, for the sequential use of two Taguchi\'s orthogonal arrangements, being the first, L16 design, for exploratory studies of the most important factors in the percentual reduction of DQO. The factors studied were the ozone outflow, the Fe2+, Fe3+, Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+ and Cr3+ ions concentration, the reaction medium pH and the presence/absence of UV radiation source UV (254 nm). Amongst the transition metals, Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions have demonstrated to be as more viable as free hydroxyl radicals catalyst due to its statistics significance (p = 0,005) and also because they have a greater tolerance to the environment discarding (less toxicity) compared to the other ions. The use of L8 Taguchi\'s orthogonal arrays gives the possibility to reach 50 % maximum COD depletion. The best factors configuration, using COD percentage reduction as experimental design response was: 5 L h-1 (589,9 mg h-1 O3) ozone outflow, 10 mg L-1 ferrous concentration, 5 mg L-1 ferric ion concentration and pH 5