Impact of sunlight irradiation on CvFAP photodecarboxylation

A visible-light-driven photocatalytic decarboxylation of palmitic acid and related fatty acids is described in this study. Remarkable decarboxylation rates have been observed with full conversion in less than 20 min. In this study, we have demonstrated that sunlight irradiation, even on cloudy days, can deliver similar results to traditional LED lamps while using much less energy and minimizing environmental impact. The findings indicate that the process of enzymatic decarboxylation could be useful for the production of different biofuels in the future

Exposição a pesticidas e genótipo heterozigoto de GSTP1-Alw26I associam-se à doença de Parkinson

Objective This study aimed to analyze the frequency of GSTP1-Alw26I polymorphism and to estimate its association with toxic substances in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods A study group with 154 patients - subdivided into familial and sporadic PD groups - and 158 elderly individuals without the disease (control group) were evaluated. GSTP1-Alw26I polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Results Patients were significantly more exposed to pesticides compared with the control group (p=0.0004), and the heterozygote genotype associated to exposure to pesticides also prevailed in patients (p=0.0001). Wild homozygote genotype was related to tobacco use (p=0.043) and alcoholism (p=0.033) in familial PD patients. Conclusion Exposure to pesticides is associated to PD, whose effect can be enhanced when combined with the heterozygote genotype of GSTP1-Alw26I. Also, large genetic and environmental studies considering tobacco use, alcoholism, GSTP1 and PD are necessary to confirm our findings.Objetivo Analisar a frequência do polimorfismo GSTP1-Alw26I, assim como estimar sua associação com substâncias tóxicas na doença de Parkinson (DP). Métodos A casuística avaliada foi composta por um grupo de estudo, com 154 pacientes, subdivididos em DP familial e esporádica, e outro com 158 idosos sem a doença (grupo controle). O polimorfismo GSTP1-Alw26I foi analisado por reação em cadeia da polimerase/polimorfismo de comprimento do fragmento de restrição (PCR/RFLP). Resultados Os pacientes foram significativamente mais expostos a pesticidas, comparados com o grupo controle (p=0,0004), e o genótipo heterozigoto associado a exposição a pesticidas também prevaleceu nos pacientes (p=0,0001). O genótipo homozigoto selvagem apresentou relação com tabagismo (p=0,043) e etilismo (p=0,033) em pacientes com DP familial. Desse modo, a exposição a pesticidas está associada à DP, cujo efeito pode ser potencializado quando combinado ao genótipo heterozigoto de GSTP1-Alw26I. Estudos genético-ambientais envolvendo tabagismo, etilismo, GSTP1 e DP devem ser realizados em casuísticas numerosas, confirmando essa associação.Sao Jose do Rio Preto Medical School Department of NeuroscienceFAMERPFederal University of São PauloHospital de BaseUNIFESPSciEL

Fundamentals of Brazilian Honey Analysis: An Overview

Brazilian honey possesses large floral sources with various colors and flavors due to botanical and geographical differences and the large extension of the country. The absence of antibiotics and pesticides contamination positively differentiates Brazilian honey in the international market. Thus, the present chapter presents an overview of regulatory aspects for identity and quality evaluation of honey produced and commercialized in Brazil and international markets, as well as, it compares the production and consumption of honey with other countries. In addition, the chapter presents physicochemical and microbiological analysis commonly used in honey, as fundamentals of the technics and literature results with different kinds of honey obtained in Brazil. Physicochemical quality control and microbiological analysis of honey samples is of fundamental importance for assessing their quality, possible adulteration and storage conditions. In the literature, several methodologies exist to be used in the performance of honey quality control and each one complements the results in order to have an idea about the quality of the product, the absence of adulteration, deterioration, and environmental pollution and geographical area. Finally, we will present the market scenario nowadays with future perspectives and some recognition obtained for Brazilian bee products in international events

EXPRESS: Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Methods to Access the Metal Solubility of Aerosols in Artificial Lung Fluid

Recent studies to quantify the health risks that fine particulate matter with anaerodynamic lessthan 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) poseuse in vitro approaches. One of these approaches is to incubate PM2.5in artificial lysosomal fluid for a given period at body temperature. These body fluids used have a high ionic strength and as such can be challenging samples to analyzewith atomic spectroscopy techniques. AsPM2.5isaprimary healthhazard because it is tiny enough to penetrate deep into the lungsand could, in addition, dissolve in the lung fluid it is important to quantify elements of toxic and/or carcinogenic concerns, reliably and accurately. Sophisticated instrumentation and expensive pre-treatment of challenging samples are not always available, especially in developing countries. Toevaluatethe applicability of GFAAS without Zeeman correction capability to detect trace quantities of heavy metals leached from PM2.5on to artificial lungfluid, uni-and multivariate approaches have been used for optimization purposes. The limits of quantification, LOQ,obtained by theoptimizedmethod were:2μgL-1(Cu), 3μg L-1(Cr), 1μg L-1(Mn) and 10μg L-1(Pb). The addition/recovery experiments had amean accuracy of: (Cu) 99 ± 7%; 110± 8% (Cr); 95 ± 9% (Mn) and 96 ± 11% (Pb). The average soluble fractions of PM2.5incubated in artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF)for 1 hour were:1.2 0.01ng m-3Cu, 0.40.01ng m-3Cr,0.60.01ng m-3Mnand4.8 0.03ng m-3Pb.Using historical elemental 2averagesof PM2.5 in Curitiba(Cu 3.3 ng m-3, Cr 2.1 ng m-3, Mn 6.1 ng m-3, Pb 21 ng m-3), the percentage bioaccessibility were determined to beCu 38%; Cr 20%; Mn 10%; and Pb 23%.The elemental values of the atmospheric soluble fraction of Cu, Cr and,Mn were below the inhalation risk concentrations.However, for Pb, the atmospheric soluble fraction exceeded the inhalation unit risk of 0.012 ng m-3.This robust and straightforward GF AASmethod is pivotal for low and middle-income countries were most air pollution adverse effects occur andestablished lower-costtechnologies are likelyunavailable

Polypodium leucotomos targets multiple aspects of oral carcinogenesis and it is a potential antitumor phytotherapy against tongue cancer growth

Peer reviewe

La experiencia de importacion de equipos para investigacion en el ELSA-Brasil

OBJETIVO: Políticas de fomento à pesquisa em saúde foram estabelecidas na última década, avançando a produção científica nacional. Tal movimento não foi acompanhado do aperfeiçoamento do arcabouço legal-institucional, dificultando o desenvolvimento dos projetos de pesquisa. Isso inclusive no que tange às atividades de importação de equipamentos. O objetivo deste artigo foi analisar o processo de importação de equipamentos para o Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto (ELSA-Brasil). MÉTODOS: Trata-se de estudo de caso, com dados coletados em documentos internos do ELSA-Brasil em cinco Centros de Investigação e respectivas fundações de apoio. Foram analisados documentos de importação de: velocidade de onda de pulso, bioimagem e retinografia. Adicionalmente, foram realizadas entrevistas não estruturadas com pesquisadores e informantes chave nas fundações. Os dados foram tratados e organizados em três etapas: administrativa-operacional, cambial e fiscal. Foram calculados os intervalos de duração dessas etapas de modo comparativo entre os centros. RESULTADOS: A necessidade de padronização dos equipamentos em estudo multicêntrico exigiu atuação conjunta de instituições executoras e fundações. Dos equipamentos analisados, a primeira etapa, a administrativa-operacional, teve duração variada (mínimo 8 e máximo de 101, com média de 55 dias), sendo mais demorada quando incluía pareceres jurídicos. A segunda etapa, a cambial, mais longa que a primeira, não apresentou entraves ao processo (mínimo 11 e máximo 381, média de 196 dias). A terceira etapa, a fiscal, foi a mais longa (mínimo 43 e máximo 388 dias, média de 215,5 dias), devido à liberação dos equipamentos sem registro no País. Outros fatores que representaram entraves: inexperiência dos centros de investigação e das instituições em trabalhar em rede; inadequação da legislação nacional às especificidades da pesquisa científica; e falta de profissionais especializados em gestão de projeto científico. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados mostram morosidade no processo de importação de equipamentos para pesquisa no Brasil, devido, especialmente, a entraves de ordem legal, burocrática e gerencial.OBJECTIVE: Policies that promote research in health were established in the last decade, developing the Brazilian scientific production. This development has not been accompanied by an improvement in the legal-institutional framework, thus hindering the development of research projects, including equipment importation activities. The present study aimed to analyze the equipment importation process for the Brazilian Longitudinal Study for Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). METHODS: A case study was performed with data collected from internal ELSA-Brasil documents in five Investigation Centers and their respective supporting foundations. The following importation documents were analyzed: pulse wave velocity, bioimaging and retinography. Additionally, non-structured interviews with researchers and key informers were conducted in the foundations. Data were treated and organized into three stages: administrative-operational, exchange rate, and fiscal. Lengths of duration of these stages were calculated comparatively among centers. RESULTS: The need to standardize equipment in a multicenter study required a joint action of implementing institutions and foundations. Of all pieces of equipment analyzed, the first stage was administrative-operational, with a varying duration (minimum of eight, maximum of 101, and mean of 55 days) which was longer when legal opinions were included. The second stage was the exchange rate, which was longer than the former and did not pose any obstacles to the process (minimum of 11, maximum of 381, and mean of 196 days). The third stage was fiscal, which was the longest one (minimum of 43, maximum of 388, and mean of 215.5 days), due to the release of equipment without registration into the country. There were other factors that posed obstacles: inexperience of investigation centers and institutions in networking; inadequacy of the national legislation on scientific research particularities; and the lack of specialized professionals in scientific project management. CONCLUSIONS: The results show the slowness of the equipment importation process in Brazil, especially due to legal, bureaucratic and managerial obstacles

Fluoride exposure duringintrauterine and lactation periods promotes changes in the offspring rats' alveolar bone

The importance of fluoride (F) for oral health is well established in the literature. However, evidence suggests that excessive exposure to this mineral is associated with adverse effects at different life stages and may affect many biological systems, especially mineralized tissues. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of F exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding on the alveolar bone of the offspring since the alveolar bone is one of the supporting components of the dental elements. For this, the progeny rats were divided into three groups: control, 10 mg F/L, and 50 mg F/L for 42 (gestational and lactation periods). Analysis of the quantification of F levels in the alveolar bone by particle-induced gamma emission; Raman spectroscopy to investigate the physicochemical aspects and mineral components; computed microtomography to evaluate the alveolar bone microstructure and analyses were performed to evaluate osteocyte density and collagen quantification using polarized light microscopy. The results showed an increase in F levels in the alveolar bone, promoted changes in the chemical components in the bone of the 50 mg F/L animals (p < 0.001), and had repercussions on the microstructure of the alveolar bone, evidenced in the 10 mg F/L and 50 mg F/L groups (p < 0.001). Furthermore, F was able to modulate the content of organic bone matrix, mainly collagen; thus, this damage possibly reduced the amount of bone tissue and consequently increased the root exposure area of the exposed groups in comparison to a control group (p < 0.001). Our findings reveal that Fcan modulate the physicochemical and microstructural dimensions and reduction of alveolar bone height, increasing the exposed root region of the offspring during the prenatal and postnatal period. These findings suggest that F can modulate alveolar bone mechanical strength and force dissipation functionality.This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. R.R.L is a researcher from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and received grant under number 312275/2021-8. Also this research was funded by PROCAD Amazônia – CAPES (23038.005350/2018–78).Peer reviewe

Análise da influência dos processos de plasticidade e fratura no comportamento mecânico de microestruturas de Compósitos de Matriz Metálica

RESUMO O presente trabalho trata da simulação numérica do comportamento mecânico de microestruturas de Compósitos com Matriz Metálica (CMMs) utilizando uma proposta de modelo de homogeneização computacional baseada numa abordagem multi-escala. Na microestrutura do compósito, as inclusões são consideradas elásticas e o comportamento da matriz é governado pelo modelo de von Mises com endurecimento isotrópico. Um modelo de fratura coesiva é desenvolvido para simular a fase de descolamento da interface matriz/inclusão. Todo o estudo é baseado no conceito de Elemento de Volume Representativo (EVR), no qual podem ser empregados modelos constitutivos que levam em conta os fenômenos dissipativos de fissuração e plasticidade. Uma série de EVRs com diferentes composições de inclusões elásticas e submetidos a diferentes condições de restrição cinemática foram analisados. Também observou-se a sensibilidade paramétrica do modelo de fratura coesiva e a importância de se considerar a fase de descolamento matriz/inclusão no processo de ruptura da microestrutura. De modo geral, os resultados encontrados contribuem para a discussão acerca do emprego de modelos simples, em termos de formulação e identificação paramétrica, na modelagem da microestrutura de materiais heterogêneos, refletindo assim na acurácia de resultados qualitativos quanto ao seu comportamento macroscópico