Occurrence of organic microcontaminants in the wastewater treatment process. A mini review

A wastewater treatment plant may receive various types of wastewater namely, urban, industrial, agricultural, washout from the streets, wet or/and dry atmospheric deposition. As such, scientists have detected in wastewaters all major categories of pollutants like persistent organic pollutants (POPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides, but also substances that are widely used as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, classified as "PPCPs" (pharmaceuticals and personal care products). Finally, the latest categories of compounds to be looked upon in these types of matrices are illicit drugs (drugs of abuse, like cocaine, etc.) and doping substances. This review article summarises major categories of organic microcontaminants that have been detected in wastewaters and studies their fate during the wastewater treatment process. Occurrence of these compounds in the influents and effluents are reported, as well as percents of removal, mass balances and phase distributions

Imunologia da Leishmaniose canina

A Leishmaniose Canina é uma doença parasitária com grande importância devido à sua distribuição mundial e carácter zoonótico. Esta doença é causada por um parasita do género Leishmania e transmitida por flebótomos infetados. A forma como esta doença se manifesta no animal depende de vários fatores, no entanto está intimamente relaciona com os mecanismos de defesa do seu sistema imunológico. O sistema imunológico divide-se em mecanismos inatos e adquiridos, em que participam diferentes tipos de células. Na imunidade inata, apesar de todas as células envolvidas exercerem funções importantes, os macrófagos desempenham um papel fulcral, tendo em conta que é nestas células que ocorre a transformação de formas promastigotas da Leishmania spp. em amastigotas. Já a imunidade adquirida divide-se em imunidade mediada por células e imunidade humoral, mas são as células CD4+ que determinam a resistência ou suscetibilidade do animal à infeção. Esta doença tem uma prevalência elevada na população canina em várias zonas de todo o mundo, sendo fundamental a implementação de medidas de prevenção. A forma como o sistema imunológico tenta combater o agente invasor é importante para evitar a progressão da doença, a deposição de imunocomplexos e as manifestações clínicas em diferentes órgãos. Apesar dos mecanismos do sistema imunológico ainda não serem totalmente conhecidos, esta dissertação bibliográfica pretende reunir informações referentes a este tema.Canine Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease of great importance due to its worldwide distribution and zoonotic character. This disease is caused by a parasite of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by infected sandflies. The way this disease manifests itself in the animal depends on several factors, but it is closely related to the defense mechanisms of its immune system. The immune system is divided into innate and acquired mechanisms, in which different types of cells participate. In innate immunity, although all the cells involved have important functions, macrophages play a key role, considering that it is in these cells that the transformation of promastigotes of Leishmania spp. into amastigotes occurs. Acquired immunity is divided into cellmediated immunity and humoral immunity, but it is the CD4+ cells that determine the animal's resistance or susceptibility to infection. This disease has a high prevalence in the canine population in several areas around the world, and the implementation of preventive measures is essential. The way the immune system tries to fight the invading agent is important to avoid the progression of the disease, the deposition of immunocomplexes and the clinical manifestations in different organs. Although the mechanisms of the immune system are not yet fully known, this bibliographic dissertation intends to gather information regarding this subjec

Influence of climate change scenarios on health safety limits for the presence of atmospheric Benzo[a]Pyrene in Europe

Ponencia presentada en: IX Congreso de la Asociación Española de Climatología celebrado en Almería entre el 28 y el 30 de octubre de 2014.[ES]El impacto del cambio climático en la calidad del aire a largo plazo es un factor que no se está considerando actualmente en los planes de mejora de la calidad del aire establecidos por las diferentes administraciones regionales, nacionales y europeas. Por tanto, es necesario actualizar la información disponible sobre contaminantes orgánicos persistentes (COP) con el fin de incluir los impactos climáticos regionales sobre la calidad del aire. El uso de nuevos modelos climáticos/transporte químico con alta resolución nos permite obtener resultados en periodos climáticamente significativos. Con este objetivo, se ha caracterizado, para el escenario SRES A2, cómo el cambio climático afecta a las concentraciones de fondo de benzo(a)pireno (BaP), un producto químico cancerígeno para los que existen ciertas directrices sobre sus niveles. Pero, sobre todo, se desea estudiar cómo (y dónde) las zonas que superan umbrales peligrosos para la salud sufren de la influencia del cambio climático sobre el continente europeo.[EN]The impact of climate change on air quality in the long term is a factor that is not currently being considered in plans to improve air quality in the different regional, national and European administrations. It is therefore necessary to update the information currently available on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to include regional climatic impacts on air quality, using new regional climate/chemistry transport models with high resolution that allow the establishment of the climate impacts on persistent pollutants, considering the results for significant periods. To this aim, we have characterised, for SRES A2 scenario, how climate change affects background concentrations of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a carcinogenic chemical for which some guidelines and legislation already exist. But above all, how (and where) would these current health safety concentration thresholds suffer from the influence of different scenarios outlined for the European continent

VARICELLA-RELATED HOSPITALIZATIONS IN CHILDREN – CASE SERIES IN A SECONDARY HOSPITAL

Introdução: A varicela é uma doença infeciosa frequente na infância. Embora considerada geralmente uma doença benigna e autolimitada, pode cursar com complicações graves. O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar os internamentos por varicela e suas complicações. Métodos: Análise retrospetiva dos processos clínicos das crianças com internamento no Serviço de Pediatria por varicela entre 01.01.2000 e 31.12.2012. Resultados: Foram internadas 105 crianças por varicela, nos 13 anos avaliados, com idades entre um dia e os dez anos (mediana: 22 meses), sendo 51,4% do género feminino. A maior incidência sazonal foi de Abril a Junho. Nenhuma criança tinha a vacina antivírus varicela-zoster. Complicações associadas à varicela foram o motivo de internamento mais frequente (76%), incluindo infeções cutâneas (56,8%), complicações respiratórias (14,8%) e neurológicas (14,8%). As restantes crianças foram internadas, pela presença de fatores de risco (idade, varicela congénita, imunossupressão) ou pela gravidade da sintomatologia. Efetuaram aciclovir 68 crianças (65%), das quais, 20 tinham iniciado terapêutica antes da hospitalização. A duração média do internamento foi de 4,5 dias. Foram transferidas três crianças para hospital terciário, uma por síndrome de pele escaldada, uma por otomastoidite com indicação cirúrgica e outra por pneumonia com derrame pleural. Uma criança com encefalite desenvolveu sequelas. Discussão: A varicela pode originar complicações graves sobretudo em crianças com fatores de risco. No período referido foi responsável por 0,7% dos internamentos. As complicações mais frequentes foram as cutâneas, o que está de acordo com outros estudos. Este trabalho permitiu rever as práticas do serviço, nomeadamente questionar critérios de internamento no grupo com fatores de risco, mas sem complicações da doença

Evolution of ochratoxin A content from must to wine in Port wine microvinification

To study the evolution of ochratoxin A (OTA) content from must to wine during the making of Port Wine, grapes from the five most common varieties of Port Wine were harvested and combined in equal percentages in order to perform microvinifications. Three sets of assays were studied: a blank (A), where the most common Port Wine-making process was used; in the second (B), a solution of OTA was added to the initial must; in the third (C), the grapes were aspersed with an inoculating solution of OTA-producing fungi. Samples were collected, in duplicate, on four different occasions throughout the process. The influence of the addition of SO_2 to the must was also assessed in each set. The quantification of OTA was based on the standard reference method for wines (European Standard prEN 14133), which includes clean-up via immunoaffinity columns and HPLC with fluorescence detection. The limits of detection were 0.076 μg/l for wine and 0.114 μg/l for must. The method was validated by assessing the precision, accuracy and by obtaining an estimate of the global uncertainty. Overall, the levels of OTA observed during the vinifications dropped by up to 92%, and no grapes used in this work were contaminated naturally.The authors wish to thank the support of the INIAP—Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e das Pescas (Portugal), through the Program AGRO, Medida 8.1, and all the personnel and facilities at the Centro de Estudos Vitivinícolas do Douro (Peso da Régua, Portugal) and the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (Porto, Portugal)

Long lasting perfume - A review of synthetic musks in WWTPs

Synthetic musks have been used for a long time in personal care and household products. In recent years, this continuous input has increased considerably, to the point that they were recognized as emerging pollutants by the scientific community, due to their persistence in the environment, and hazardous potential to ecosystems even at low concentrations. The number of studies in literature describing their worldwide presence in several environmental matrices is growing, and many of them indicate that the techniques employed for their safe removal tend to be ineffective. This is the case of conventional activated sludge treatment plants (WWTPs), where considerable loads of synthetic musks enter mainly through domestic sewage. This review paper compiles and discusses the occurrence of these compounds in the sewage, effluents and sludge, main concentration levels and phase distributions, as well as the efficiency of the different methodologies of removal applied in these treatment facilities. To the present day, it has been demonstrated that WWTPs lack the ability to remove musks completely. This shows a clear need to develop new effective and cost-efficient remediation approaches and foresees potential for further improvements in this field

Worldwide interlaboratory study on the determination of ochratoxin A in different wine type samples

Interlaboratory studies are decisive tools to help the validation of a specific analytical methodology or to assess the reproducibility of the use of different methods to analyze a given compound or compounds in certain sample matrices. In this work, homogeneous samples of two white wines (“White Wine” and “White Liqueur Wine”) and one red wine (“Red Fortified Wine”) from Portugal with different production techniques and characteristics, namely in alcohol strength (10.5%, 16.0% and 19.0% ethanolic content, respectively), were analyzed for their contents in ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin generated from fungal contamination. White Liqueur Wine was naturally contaminated, whereas the other two wine type were spiked with ethanolic OTA solutions. The participation of 24 laboratories from 17 countries of five continents was ensured for this study. Although with no restrictions in terms of analytical methodology to employ, 75% of the laboratories resorted to immunoaffinity columns clean-up followed by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FD), most of them in accordance with the European Standard EN 14133. For White Wine samples, the general mean OTA concentration was 1.96 μg/l (two outliers) with interlaboratorial standard deviation (sL) of 0.53 μg/l; for White Liqueur Wine, mean of 1.59 μg/l (one outlier), with sL = 0.59 μg/l; and for Red Fortified Wine, mean of 2.73 μg/l (no outliers), with sL = 0.96 μg/l. Outliers were determined by Cochran and Grubbs tests. The Horrat index, recommended by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) for the quality assurance of the collaborative study was, on average, 1.7. This study proved that OTA determination in wines is reproducible, regardless of the methodology employed.INIAP (Portugal), through the Program AGRO

Ensino da física : interligação com a área da saúde, no 10º ano

Mestrado em Ensino de Física e da QuímicaPerante a constatação de que o número de alunos a escolher Física como área de prosseguimento de estudos é baixo, apresentam-se neste estudo algumas formas de potenciar o ensino da Física, numa tentativa de inverter a situação, a partir do ensino das Ciências em contexto formal e não formal. O objectivo deste trabalho está assim no seguimento dos esforços que têm sido desenvolvidos com o intuito de motivar os alunos a gostar de Física e a aprender Física, entre os quais tem sido muito importante a diminuição do distanciamento entre as Universidades e as escolas, bem como a troca de informação constante entre estes dois níveis de ensino. O conteúdo deste trabalho é uma abordagem de diferentes estratégias passíveis de serem utilizadas na leccionação de temas de Física no 10º ano, articulando-os com a área da saúde. Apresenta-se uma descrição de trabalho de campo, realizado em contexto formal e não formal, e os resultados de dois inquéritos aplicados a professores de Ciências e a alunos de dois níveis de escolaridade diferentes: 9º (3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico, 3ºCEB) e 10º. A análise dos resultados permitiu verificar a importância das diferentes estratégias focadas, que podem ser tomadas em consideração como mais adequadas para o ensino ou para a divulgação da Física, e que, incrementando a literacia em saúde, permitem interligar conteúdos do 3ºCEB com o Secundário, na área da Física. ABSTRACT: Being aware of the small number of students that choose Physics as a career, we present in this study some forms of promoting Physics teaching in an attempt to reverse the situation. The objective of this work is therefore on the sequence of the many efforts that have been made with the goal of motivating the students to enjoy Physics, and to learn Physics. Between these efforts, the shortening of the University-school contact distances that is going on is very important, as well as the constant interchange of information between these two levels of teaching and learning. The content of this study is an approach of different teaching strategies possible to be used on lecturing Physics themes of the 10º degree of Secondary school articulating them with health area. A description of field work is presented, in both formal and non-formal contexts, as well as the results of two inquiries applied to teachers and students of two schooling levels: 9º (3º Basic Cycle, 3BC) and 10º (Secondary). The analysis of results allows to verify the importance of the different strategies analysed, that may be taken into consideration as most adequate to the teaching or divulgation of Physics, and that, increasing health literacy, allow the interconnection of teaching contents of 3BC and Secondary in the Physics area

Microalgal Cultures for the Bioremediation of Urban Wastewaters in the Presence of Siloxanes

Microalgae are widely used in the bioremediation of wastewaters due to their efficient removal of pollutants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). Siloxanes are CECs that reach wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), leading to the production of biogas enriched with these compounds, associated with the breakdown of cogeneration equipment. The biological removal of siloxanes from wastewaters could be a sustainable alternative to the costly existing technologies, but no investigation has been performed using microalgal cultures for this purpose. This study evaluated the ability of Chlorella vulgaris to bioremediate primary (PE) and secondary (SE) urban effluents and remove volatile methylsiloxanes (VMSs). C. vulgaris grew successfully in both effluents, and approximately 86% of nitrogen and 80% of phosphorus were efficiently removed from the PE, while 52% of nitrogen and 87% of phosphorus were removed from the SE, and the presence of VMSs does not seem to have a negative influence on nutrient removal. Three out of the seven of the analysed VMSs were detected in the microalgal biomass at the end of the PE assay. However, dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D6) was the one that accumulated to a greater extent, since 48% of the initial mass of D6 was detected in the biomass samples. D6 is one of the most lipophilic VMSs, which might contribute to the higher adsorption onto the surface of microalgae. Overall, the results indicate C. vulgaris' potential to remove specific VMSs from effluents