Analyses of long-term measurements (2005-2012) of 7Be concentrations in surface air aerosols

Studies of radionuclide activities in aerosol particles provide a mean for evaluating the integrated effects of transport and meteorology on the atmospheric loadings of substances with different sources. The aim of the present study is to explain the behaviour of aerosols associated with 7Be (T1/2=53.3 days) in the surface atmosphere using exploratory data analysis to obtain information on their possible mechanisms of transport and deposition. This naturally occurring radionuclide is an important isotope in studying atmospheric processes because of its convenient half-life and sufficiently detectable -radiation (E = 0.477 MeV), which has served for studying precipitation scavenging, vertical and horizontal removal of air masses, aerosol transit and residence times in the troposphere [1]

Variations of PM10 and its relationship with 7Be and 210Pb measurements at Malaga (Southeastern coast of Spain)

INTRODUCTION Levels of particulate matter fraction PM10 were monitored between 2009 and 2011 in Malaga (Spain) in one of the Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring network managed by the Environmental Health Service of the Andalusian Government. Long-term measurements of cosmogenic radionuclides such as 7Be provide important data in studying global atmospheric processes and comparing environmental impact of radioactivity from man-made sources to natural ones. 7Be is a natural radionuclide tracer of aerosols originated over a range of high altitudes in the atmosphere. On the other hand, 210Pb is produced by radioactive decay from its progenitor, 222Rn, which emanates primarily from land surface. Therefore, 210Pb in the air is an effective tracer of the continental surface air mass. The variation of the data with time was studied by time series analyses and seasonal patterns were identified. The study of air back-trajectories were computed by means of the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectories (HYSPLIT) trajectory model (Draxler, 1994) using meteorological data supplied by the US National Climatic Data Centr

Atmospheric fluxes of radionuclides on monthly time-scale in Málaga (Spain)

ABSTRACT.- Bulk atmospheric deposition of gamma radionuclides ( 7Be, 210Pb and 40K ) has been measured at Málaga (4º 28´80′′ W; 36º 43′ 40′N) at a coastal Mediterranean station in the south of Spain, from January 2005 through December 2012 for monthly period

Long-term atmospheric fluxes of radionuclides at a coastal Mediterranean station

7Be is one of the radionuclide produced by spallation reactions of cosmic rays with light atmospheric nuclei. 7Be rapidly associates primarily with submicron-sized aerosol particles. Gravitational settling and precipitation processes largely accomplish transfer to the earth’s surface. 210Pb which is one of the natural radionuclide of the 238U series is widely used as a tracer. 210Pb depositional pattern gave us information on continental aerosols in lower troposphere. These two radionuclides with their different sources and therefore are useful to understand the mechanisms of aerosol removal from the atmosphere. These radionuclides have measured routinely in many places in order to study the description of environmental processes such as aerosol transit and residence times in the troposphere , aerosol deposition velocities and aerosol trapping by ground vegetation.40K has been associated with the arrival of coarse re-suspended material from the Africa continent. The bulk atmospheric deposition of 7Be , 210Pb and 40K has been measured at Málaga , south-eastern Spain, from January 2005 to December 2012 for monthly periods.CS

Fetal heart rate changes on the cardiotocograph trace secondary to maternal COVID-19 infection

Elsevier grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains activeTo determine the cardiotocograph (CTG) changes in women with symptomatic COVID-19 infection. Study design: 12 anonymised CTG traces from 2 hospitals in Spain were retrospectively analysed by 2 independent assessors. CTG parameters were studied based on fetal pathophysiological responses to inflammation and hypoxia that would be expected based on the pathogenesis of COVID-19 patients. Correlation was made with perinatal outcomes (Apgar score at 5 min and umbilical cord pH). Results: All fetuses showed an increased baseline FHR > 10 percent compared to the initial recording, in addition to absence of accelerations. 10 out of 12 CTG traces (83.3 percent) demonstrated late or prolonged decelerations and 7 out of 12 fetuses (58.3 percent) showed absence of cycling. Not a single case of sinusoidal pattern was observed. ZigZag pattern was found in 4 CTG traces (33 percent). Excessive uterine activity was observed in all CTG traces where uterine activity was monitored (10 out of 12). Apgar scores at 5 min were normal (>7) and absence of metabolic acidosis was found in the umbilical cord arterial pH (pH > 7.0) in the cases that were available (11 and 9, respectively). Conclusion: Fetuses of COVID-19 patients showed a raised baseline FHR (>10 percent), loss of accelerations, late decelerations, ZigZag pattern and absence of cycling probably due to the effects of maternal pyrexia, maternal inflammatory response and the “cytokine storm”. However, the perinatal outcomes appear to be favourable. Therefore, healthcare providers should optimise the maternal environment first to rectify the reactive CTG changes instead of performing an urgent operative interventio

The 40k used as tracer of saharan dust contributions

The present study is carried out in Málaga, frequently affected by intrusions of air masses with high concentrations of atmospheric particulate matter. 40K is a natural radionuclide and has been associated with the arrival of coarse re-suspended material from the Africa continent. A systematic 13-year analysis (January 2005-December 2017) of the concentration of radionuclides in bulk (wet + dry) deposition and PM10 air concentrations has been performed to test the possible utility of 40K as tracer of African mineral dust inputs in Málaga (4° 28ʹ 8ʺ W ;36° 43ʹ 40ʺ N). Also the atmospheric aerosols are collected using a high volume sampler during 9-year (January 2009-December 2017). It is a prerequisite to know the environmental long-term behaviour of radionuclides an a relatively large number of values are required for statistically meaningful conclusions . The identification of African dust events was carried by 96-hour back-trajectory analysis arriving at thee different heights (500 m, 1500m, 3000m a.g.l.) calculate with the HYSPLIT model , and by the information obtained from the output of the dust regional Atmospheric model (DREAM 8b).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Obtenção de extrato padronizado de Mucuna Pruriens (L.) DC. e controle da qualidade de matéria-prima e produto contendo Boswellia Serrata Roxb.

Resumo: Um dos problemas na pesquisa com produtos naturais é definir quais substâncias são responsáveis pela ação terapêutica e, a partir dessas, definir sua concentração terapêutica. A planta Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. é usada para o tratamento do mal de Parkinson e a resina de Boswellia serrata Roxb. detêm ação antiinflamatória, sendo essas atividades comprovadas. Entretanto, essas plantas apresentam carência de métodos para a quantificação de marcadores. Uma ferramenta útil nesse caso é a cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE), que propicia a separação de compostos e sua quantificação. Esse trabalho teve como objetivos desenvolver métodos de controle de qualidade para as espécies M. pruriens (L.) DC. e B. serrata Roxb., além do desenvolvimento de um extrato padronizado de M. pruriens. Foram utilizadas sementes de M. pruriens (L.) DC. de três variedades (cinza, preta e verde), bem como resina e comprimidos revestidos de B. serrata Roxb. Foram desenvolvidos e validados métodos para o doseamento de levodopa nas sementes e no plasma de animais por CLAE, além de quantificação de compostos fenólicos totais nas sementes por espectrometria no UV. A dopa foi isolada das sementes e sua pureza enantiomérica foi verificada por CLAE quiral. Um extrato padronizado foi desenvolvido com o método de spray drying. Já com a B. serrata, foram desenvolvidos e validados métodos para a quantificação de ácidos boswélicos (ácidos b-boswélico, 11-ceto-b-boswélico e 3-acetil-11-ceto-b-boswélico) por CLAE em resina e em comprimidos revestidos, além da determinação de ácidos totais em resina por titulometria em meio não aquoso. Como resultados, destaca-se que os métodos desenvolvidos para doseamento de levodopa em sementes e no plasma foram precisos, exatos, lineares e robustos, sendo que os teores de levodopa nas variedades apresentaram-se em torno de 4%. O teor de fenólicos totais situou-se em aproximadamente 4%. A dopa isolada foi a L-(S)-dopa. Obteve-se um extrato de mucuna padronizado, com teor de levodopa em torno de 12%. Os dois métodos desenvolvidos para B. serrata apresentaram-se precisos, exatos e robustos. Há, na resina, cerca de 85% de ácidos totais expressos em ácido b-boswélico, com os seguintes teores: 1,73% de ácido 11-ceto-b-boswélico 0,85% de ácido 3-acetil-11- ceto-b-boswélico e 5,56% de ácido b-boswélico; nos comprimidos revestidos foram 0,98% de ácido 11-ceto-b-boswélico, 0,48% de ácido -acetil-11-ceto-b-boswélico e 2,67% e ácido b-boswélico. Conclui-se que todos os métodos desenvolvidos podem ser utilizados em rotina analítica, bem como o extrato de M. pruriens obtido poderá ser aplicado como insumo farmacêutico na produção de um fitoterápico para o Mal de Parkinson

Diagnose fitoquímica de frutos de Caryocar brasiliense Camb., caryocaraceae

Orientadora : Tomoe NakashimaCo-orientadora : Sandra Mara Woranovicz BarreiraDissertaçao (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciencias da Saúde. Programa de Pós-Graduaçao em Ciencias Farmaceuticas. Defesa: Curitiba, 2004Inclui bibliografiaÁrea de concentraçao: Insumos, medicamentos e correlato

Diagnose fitoquímica de frutos de Caryocar brasiliense Camb., caryocaraceae

Orientadora : Tomoe NakashimaCo-orientadora : Sandra Mara Woranovicz BarreiraDissertaçao (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciencias da Saúde. Programa de Pós-Graduaçao em Ciencias Farmaceuticas. Defesa: Curitiba, 2004Inclui bibliografiaÁrea de concentraçao: Insumos, medicamentos e correlato

Surface activity levels of 7Be, 210Pb, 40K and other atmospheric species and teh influence of African air mass intrusions

The high frequency of mineral dust plumes blown across from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula significantly affects dust levels in the atmosphere. Therefore, it is of great interest to analyse and quantify the African dust loading over the region due to the impact it has on air quality. This work presents results from a 2-year sampling campaign carried out to provide information on the frequency and impact of these African dust episodes on the concentrations of radioactive matter and non radioactive matter in the lower atmosphere at this Mediterranean coastal site. Aerosol samples for radiometric measurements were collected at the University of Málaga (36° 43′ 40″ N; 4° 28′ 8″ W) over 3-day periods using a high-volume sampler fitted with square polypropylene filters. All the radiometric measurements were performed by low-level gamma spectrometry with a coaxial-type germanium detector. The identification of African events was confirmed by means of 4-day backward trajectories (at 500, 1500, 3000 m.a.g.l.) computed using the HYSPLIT model and BSC-Dream8b dust images. Higher average concentration values were found for the three radionuclides in the set of samples collected under the influence of African dust events. The correlation patterns of the three radionuclides with meteorological variables and with the concentrations of the other atmospheric species were examined, both on the total set as well as on dusty and non-dusty basis.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional de Andalucía Tec