Peroxi-eletrooxidação como tratamento para águas residuais da indústria extratora de óleo de bagaço de azeitona

A água residual da indústria extratora de óleo de bagaço de azeitona (IEOBA) é considerada como uma das mais tóxicas e complexas de se tratar. Entre as principais características de referir, a alta concentração de matéria orgânica não biodegradável e compostos fenólicos (CFen) que são inibidores de atividade microbiana, impossibilitando tratamento biológico sem a sua prévia remoção. Para superar as complexidades, técnicas de tratamento eficientes de remoção de CFen e matéria orgânica pouco biodegradáveis devem ser desenvolvidas. Os Processo Oxidativos Avançados (POA) são métodos de tratamento que estão sendo amplamente estudados para degradar matéria orgânica através do uso de agentes oxidantes, corrente elétrica e/ou catalisadores. A peroxi-eletrooxidação (PEO) é um dos métodos da POA que combina o radical hidroxila fornecido pelo peróxido de hidrogênio como agente oxidante, a corrente elétrica e a eletrogeração aniônica de coagulante com potencial de remoção de matéria orgânica pouco biodegradável. Os eletrodos aniônicos de alumínio e ferro em conjunto com o cátodo de grafite foram estudados para a remoção de CFen e Carência Química de Oxigênio (CQO). Ao aplicar PEO na água residual da IEOBA, através da metodologia de superfície de resposta (RSM) e o desenho experimental de Box-Behnken Design (BBD) avaliando a concentração de peróxido de hidrogênio [H2O2], densidade de corrente e tempo de reação com pH 3, comparando o sistema de alumínio grafite com o sistema ferro grafite, obteve- se a remoção de 89% e 88% de CFen além de 30% e 29% de CQO respectivamente, como maiores remoções atingidas pelos limites estudados. A concentração de peróxido de hidrogênio é o fator que mais influência na remoção de CFen acontecendo no início da reação. Já para a remoção de CQO, a eficiência de remoção está ligada ao tempo de reação e a densidade de corrente. Na configuração de peroxi-eletrooxidação em estudo, o peróxido de hidrogênio foi consumido logo no início (em até 15 minutos) e após o consumo, prevaleceu reações de eletrocoagulação com o ânodo de sacrifício eletrogerando coagulante. A peroxi-eletrooxidação demonstrou potencial para a remoção de CFen em pouco tempo de reação, porém a remoção de CQO não foi eficiente nas mesmas condições.The wastewater of the olive pomace oil extracting industry (IEOBA) was considered one of the most toxic and complex to treat. Among the main characteristics are the high concentration of non-biodegradable organic matter and phenolic compounds (CFen) that are inhibitors of microbial activity, making biological treatment impossible without its previous removal. To overcome the complexities, efficient treatment techniques should be developed to remove CFen and unbiodegradable organic matter. The advanced oxidation process (AOP) is a treatment method that is being widely studied to degrade organic matter through the use of oxidizing agents, electric current and/or catalysts. Peroxi-electrooxidation (PEO) is one of the methods of AOP that combining hydroxyl radical provided by hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent, electric current and anionic coagulant electrogeneration. The aluminum and iron anionic electrodes together with the graphite cathode electrode were studied for the removal of CFen and COD. By applying PEO to IEOBA residual water, through the response surface methodology (RSM) and the experimental design of Box-Behnken Design (BBD) evaluating the concentration of hydrogen peroxide [H2O2], current density and reaction time with pH 3, comparing the graphite aluminum system with the graphite iron system, the removal of 89% and 88% of CFen in addition to 30% and 29% of COD, respectively, is obtained, as higher removals reached by the studied limits. [H2O2] is the main factor influencing CFen removal happening at the beginning of the reaction. For COD removal, removal efficiency was linked to the reaction time and the current density. In the peroxy-electrooxidation configuration under study, hydrogen peroxide was consumed early on (within 15 minutes) and after the hydrogen peroxide consumption, the electrocoagulation reactions were prevailed with the coagulating electrogenerating sacrificial anode. Peroxy- electrooxidation demonstrated potential for CFen removal in a short reaction time, but COD removal was not efficient under the same conditions.Mestrado de dupla diplomação com a UTFPR, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paran

Acute exposure to C60 fullerene damages pulmonary mitochondrial function and mechanics

C60 fullerene (C60) nanoparticles, a nanomaterial widely used in technology, can offer risks to humans, overcome biological barriers, and deposit onto the lungs. However, data on its putative pulmonary burden are scanty. Recently, the C60 interaction with mitochondria has been described in vitro and in vivo. We hypothesized that C60 impairs lung mechanics and mitochondrial function. Thirty-five male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into two groups intratracheally instilled with vehicle (0.9% NaCl + 1% Tween 80, CTRL) or C60 (1.0 mg/kg, FUL). Twenty-four hours after exposure, 15 FUL and 8 CTRL mice were anesthetized, paralyzed, and mechanically ventilated for the determination of lung mechanics. After euthanasia, the lungs were removed en bloc at end-expiration for histological processing. Lung tissue elastance and viscance were augmented in FUL group. Increased inflammatory cell number, alveolar collapse, septal thickening, and pulmonary edema were detected. In other six FUL and six CTRL mice, mitochondria expressed reduction in state 1 respiration [FUL = 3.0 ± 1.14 vs. CTRL = 4.46 ± 0.9 (SEM) nmol O2/min/mg protein, p = 0.0210], ATP production (FUL = 122.6 ± 18 vs. CTRL = 154.5 ± 14 µmol/100 µg protein, p = 0.0340), and higher oxygen consumption in state 4 [FUL = 12.56 ± 0.9 vs. CTRL = 8.26 ± 0.6], generation of reactive oxygen species (FUL 733.1 ± 169.32 vs. CTRL = 486.39 ± 73.1 nmol/100 µg protein, p = 0.0313) and reason ROS/ATP [FUL = 8.73 ± 2.3 vs. CTRL = 2.99 ± 0.3]. In conclusion, exposure to fullerene C60 impaired pulmonary mechanics and mitochondrial function, increased ROS concentration, and decrease ATP production

Identification of virulence-associated markers in Escherichia coli isolated from captive red-browed amazon parrot (Amazona rhodocorytha)

Due to the genetic similarity of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from birds and pathotypes of human origin, it is suggested that they have a common ancestor and may exchange virulence-associated genes. This study aimed to detect virulence-associated genes in E. coli strains isolated from the Red-browed Amazon parrot (Amazona rhodocorytha) kept at a conservation institute in Brazil. High genetic variability in virulence was observed, since 12 virulence profiles were found among 14 strains. The number of virulence-associated genes of single strains ranged from 5 to 22 out of 33 genes tested, and only one strain did not present any virulence genes. Regarding adhesion genes, most strains presented from two to five genes, and crlA (85.7%) and fimC (85.7%) were the most frequent. Frequencies were similar for invasion and iron acquisition genes. Variations among genes were observed for serum resistance and toxin-related genes. Some of the E. coli strains isolated from parrots presented virulence genes that are commonly associated with pathotypes of human origin, including newborn meningitis E. coli, uropathogenic E. coli, and sepsis-associated E. coli. It is noteworthy that some of these genes were present in the majority of the analyzed strains. Our results indicate that these strains detected in clinically healthy parrots can be potential reservoirs of several virulence-associated genes. These genes can be transmitted to other E. coli strains, including those that affect humans. These E. coli strains present a high pathogenic potential of virulence-associated genes in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strains

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

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

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

Brazilian recommendations of mechanical ventilation 2013. Part 2

O suporte ventilatório artificial invasivo e não invasivo ao paciente crítico tem evoluído e inúmeras evidências têm surgido, podendo ter impacto na melhora da sobrevida e da qualidade do atendimento oferecido nas unidades de terapia intensiva no Brasil. Isto posto, a Associação de Medicina Intensiva Brasileira (AMIB) e a Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (SBPT) - representadas pelo seus Comitê de Ventilação Mecânica e Comissão de Terapia Intensiva, respectivamente, decidiram revisar a literatura e preparar recomendações sobre ventilação mecânica objetivando oferecer aos associados um documento orientador das melhores práticas da ventilação mecânica na beira do leito, baseado nas evidencias existentes, sobre os 29 subtemas selecionados como mais relevantes no assunto. O projeto envolveu etapas visando distribuir os subtemas relevantes ao assunto entre experts indicados por ambas as sociedades que tivessem publicações recentes no assunto e/ou atividades relevantes em ensino e pesquisa no Brasil na área de ventilação mecânica. Esses profissionais, divididos por subtemas em duplas, responsabilizaram-se por fazer revisão extensa da literatura mundial sobre cada subtema. Reuniram-se todos no Forum de Ventilação Mecânica na sede da AMIB em São Paulo, em 03 e 04 de agosto de 2013 para finalização conjunta do texto de cada subtema e apresentação, apreciação, discussão e aprovação em plenária pelos 58 participantes, permitindo a elaboração de um documento final

ABC-SPH risk score for in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients : development, external validation and comparison with other available scores

The majority of available scores to assess mortality risk of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency department have high risk of bias. Therefore, this cohort aimed to develop and validate a score at hospital admission for predicting in-hospital mortality in COVID-19 patients and to compare this score with other existing ones. Consecutive patients (≥ 18 years) with confirmed COVID-19 admitted to the participating hospitals were included. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop a prediction model for in-hospital mortality, based on the 3978 patients admitted between March-July, 2020. The model was validated in the 1054 patients admitted during August-September, as well as in an external cohort of 474 Spanish patients. Median (25-75th percentile) age of the model-derivation cohort was 60 (48-72) years, and in-hospital mortality was 20.3%. The validation cohorts had similar age distribution and in-hospital mortality. Seven significant variables were included in the risk score: age, blood urea nitrogen, number of comorbidities, C-reactive protein, SpO/FiO ratio, platelet count, and heart rate. The model had high discriminatory value (AUROC 0.844, 95% CI 0.829-0.859), which was confirmed in the Brazilian (0.859 [95% CI 0.833-0.885]) and Spanish (0.894 [95% CI 0.870-0.919]) validation cohorts, and displayed better discrimination ability than other existing scores. It is implemented in a freely available online risk calculator (https://abc2sph.com/). An easy-to-use rapid scoring system based on characteristics of COVID-19 patients commonly available at hospital presentation was designed and validated for early stratification of in-hospital mortality risk of patients with COVID-19