Quantification of methylmercury and geochemistry of mercury in sediments from a contaminated area of Descoberto (MG), Brazil.

In 2002, metallic Hg was found buried in a rural area of Descoberto city, Brazil. The origin of the Hg was a gold mining explotation plant established nearly one century ago. Although a number of studies have been conducted in order to assess the contamination of the area, none of them investigated the presence of methylated Hg in the hydric system. In this work methylmercury (CH3Hg?) was determined using gas chromatography-pyrolysis-atomic fluorescence detection (CG-pyro-AFS) in material from rain sedimentation boxes and stream sediments near the contaminated area. Total Hg concentration (HgT) along with the chemical speciation by thermo-desorption were performed. HgT in material from the sedimentation boxes was found to be very high, up to 41,580 mg kg 1, even in the rainy season, when in general HgT were much lower than in dry season. The samples from the Grama and Rico streams show a range of HgT from 5.8 to 266 mg kg 1. The thermo-desorption analysis showed predominance of Hg2?, possibly linked to organic sulfur, suggested by a good positive correlation between Hg2?, HgT, organic mater (OM) and total S. The CH3Hg? concentration in stream sediment samples ranged from <0.07 to 1.87 mg kg 1 and in the samples of sedimentation boxes the concentrations were 1.33 and 8.0 mg kg 1 during dry season. The sample with the highest percentage of HgT as Hg2? (98%) presented also the highest percentage of CH3Hg? (0.7%). These are high values, showing that care should be taken to avoid the transport of this material to the hydrological system. Further studies on the transfer through the food chain would be very important

AIDS in adults 50 years of age and over: characteristics, trends and spatial distribution of the risk

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the sociodemographic characteristics, epidemic trend and spatial distribution of the risk of AIDS in adults 50 years of age and over.METHOD: population-based, ecological study, that used secondary data from the Notifiable Disease Information System (Sinan/AIDS) of Paraíba state from the period January 2000 to December 2010.RESULTS: during the study period, 307 cases of AIDS were reported among people 50 years of age or over. There was a predominance of males (205/66, 8%), mixed race, and low education levels. The municipalities with populations above 100 thousand inhabitants reported 58.5% of the cases. There was a progressive increase in cases among women; an increasing trend in the incidence (positive linear correlation); and an advance in the geographical spread of the disease, with expansion to the coastal region and to the interior of the state, reaching municipalities with populations below 30 thousand inhabitants. In some locations the risk of disease was 100 times greater than the relative risk for the state.CONCLUSION: aging, with the feminization and interiorization of the epidemic in adults 50 years of age and over, confirms the need for the induction of affirmative policies targeted toward this age group

Incidence of binge drinking in a cohort of university students of the south-east region of brazil, 2010-2011.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of binge and at-risk alcohol consumption among new-entrant students in a public university in the South-East Region of Brazil. Methods: Longitudinal study undertaken with a random sample of undergraduates (N=1,168) in the first semesters of 2010 (n=256) and 2011 (n=183). In order to evaluate drinking patterns, participants were classified as abstainers, light, moderate, binge or heavy binge drinkers. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questionnaire score was used to define the risk categories for consumption: low risk, risk, harmful use and probable dependence. Statistical analysis was undertaken using Stata software, version 11.0. Results: Amongst the 256 students evaluated, 51.6% were women and 64.5% were aged ?19 years. The prevalence of consumption of alcoholic beverages was 75.8%. The average age of onset of alcohol consumption was 15.7?1.9 years. The incidence of binge + heavy drinkers was 2.6/100 persons per year, with vulnerability shown in individuals of male sex and of age 19 years or more. The incidence of risk level drinkers was 2.0/100 persons per year and greater for individuals of male sex and younger than 19 years. Conclusion: The students of this institution are at high risk for problems associated with alcohol use

Hepatitis B Virus infection in HIV-positive population in Brazil: results of a survey in the state of Mato Grosso and a comparative analysis with other regions of Brazil

BACKGROUND: End-stage liver disease is currently a major concern among HIV-positive individuals due to co-infection with hepatotropic virus. Hepatitis C has been pointed out as a remarkable factor for that. More recently, hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection has also been found to play a role on liver disease in this population. HIV-HBV co-infection prevalence remains largely unknown in vast areas of Brazil. The objective of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of HBV and HDV infection in HIV-infected subjects living in the state of Mato Grosso, in the Central region of Brazil, and compare it to other Brazilian studies. We also assess epidemiologic data regarding risk factors and vaccinal status. METHODS: HIV-positive individuals followed at the Central Laboratory of the Department of Public Health of Mato Grosso in the city of Cuiabá composed the sample. Participants answered a specific questionnaire and had a blood sample taken and tested for serologic markers. RESULTS: A thousand individuals were interviewed and tested for HBsAg, anti-HBc, anti-HBs and anti-HDV if positive for HBsAg. Measurements of CD4 and viral load for HIV-1 were also performed. Overall prevalence of HBV exposure (anti-HBc +ve) was 40.0%, and 3.7% for HBsAg. This prevalence data was similar or slightly lower than for other Brazilian regions, which ranged from 40% and 3% to 71% and 24%, respectively. Testing for anti-HDV in the 37 HBsAg positive patients was positive in only one subject. Factors that showed independent association with HBV exposure, after adjustment, were: male gender, older age groups, tattooing, and reporting more than ten sexual partners throughout life (p < 0.01). Eighty-one (27.5%) out of 291 HBV-unexposed individuals who reported vaccination were anti-HBs positive. Anti-HBs prevalence was higher among those who had higher levels of CD4 by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our data showed HBV infection prevalence similar or slightly lower than that reported in other regions of Brazil. In addition, our data revealed a less important role for drug injection in the spread of HIV and HBV in Mato Grosso compared to other regions of the country. The high rate of non-vaccinated subjects among this HBV-unexposed, HIV-infected population is a matter of considerable health concern in this region. The relationship between CD4 levels and HBV vaccine response found in the present study reinforces the need of keeping health care workers alert to this issue

MANEJO DE Amburana cearensis var. acreana NO ESTADO DO ACRE, BRASIL

This work has as its objectives: a) to assess the geographical distribution and population structure of Amburana cearensis var. acreana; b) to calculate sustainable cutting rates, according to stipulated cutting cycles, and c) to simulate the projected recovery potential in volume based on the calculated cutting rate. It was used data from sustainable forest management plans, and the results will contribute for future decisions about its endangered condition. The results did not corroborate the information that Amburana cearensis var. acreana is endangered in Acre state. However the management sustainability will only be feasible if considered the ideal remaining population structure and the estimative of the optimal cutting rate according to the cutting cycle.Os objetivos desse trabalho foram: a) analisar a distribui\ue7\ue3o geogr\ue1fica e a estrutura populacional de Amburana cearensis var. acreana; b) calcular taxas de corte sustent\ue1veis baseado em ciclos de corte estipulados e c) simular a recupera\ue7\ue3o potencial em volume baseado na taxa de corte calculada. Foram usados dados de planos de manejo florestal sustent\ue1vel, e os resultados contribuir\ue3o para as tomadas de decis\ue3o futuras sobre sua condi\ue7\ue3o de esp\ue9cie amea\ue7ada. Os resultados n\ue3o corroboram a informa\ue7\ue3o de que a Amburana cearensis var. acreana est\ue1 amea\ue7ada no Estado do Acre. Entretanto, o manejo sustent\ue1vel dessa esp\ue9cie s\uf3 ser\ue1 poss\uedvel se for considerada a estrutura para a popula\ue7\ue3o remanescente ideal e a estimativa da taxa \uf3tima de corte, considerando o ciclo de corte vigente

Detection of diploid males in a natural colony of the cleptobiotic bee Lestrimelitta sp (Hymenoptera, Apidae)

When working at quantifying the genome size of stingless bees, it was observed that males of Lestrimelitta sp possessed the same amount of nuclear DNA as the females. Thus, we used flow cytometry (FCM) and cytogenetic analysis to confirm the ploidy of these individuals. The males analyzed proved to be diploid, since, through cytometric analysis, it was demonstrated that the mean genome size of both males and females was the same (C = 0.463 pg), and, furthermore, cytogenetic analysis demonstrated that both had 2n = 28 chromosomes

Nutrients consumption of assessment in different levels of meal of inclusion crambe (Crambe abyssinica Hochst) in sheep diet

Todos os textos, informa??es e resultados apresentados s?o de inteira responsabilidade dos autor.Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito de inclus?o crescente da prote?na bruta do farelo de crambe em substitui??o ? prote?na bruta do concentrado fornecido a cordeiros confinados em rela??o ao consumo de nutrientes. Foram utilizados vinte e quatro ovinos SRD machos, com idade inicial m?dia de quatro meses e peso vivo m?dio inicial de 17,50 ? 3,90 kg. As dietas foram constitu?das com n?veis crescentes de; 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% de substitui??o da PB do concentrado pela PB do farelo de crambe. Houve efeito linear decrescente da inclus?o do farelo de crambe nas dietas dos animais em rela??o ao consumo de mat?ria seca (CMS), consumo de mat?ria org?nica (CMO),consumo de prote?na bruta (CPB) e consumo de carboidratos n?o fibrosos corrigidos para cinzas e prote?nas (CCNFcp) em Kg.dia-1. Conclui-se que o farelo de crambe utilizado como alimento prot?ico substituindo at? 75% da prote?na bruta do concentrado diminui o consumo de PB e CNF em kg MS.dia-1 de cordeiros confinados, todavia n?o alterou o consumo dos nutrientes na unidade g. Kg-1 de PV.ABSTRACT The objective was to evaluate the effect of increasing inclusion of crude protein of crambe meal to replace the crude protein of the concentrate fed to feedlot lambs in relation to nutrient intake. Twenty-four sheep SRD rats were used, with initial mean age of four months and average weight of 17.50 ? 3.90 kg. The diets were made with increasing levels of; 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% replacement of PB PB concentrated by crambe bran. Decreased linearly the inclusion of crambe meal in animal diets in relation to dry matter intake (DMI), consumption of organic matter (CMO), crude protein intake (CPB) and consumer non-fibrous carbohydrates corrected for ash and protein (CCNFcp) in Kg.dia-1. Concluded that the crambe meal used as protein feed by replacing up to 75% of gross protein concentrate decreases the consumption of PB and CNF in MS.dia kg-1 of lambs, however not alter the intake of nutrients in g unit. Kg-1 PV

Quantitative analysis of cardiac lesions in chronic canine chagasic cardiomyopathy.

Lesions observed in chronic chagasic cardiopathy frequently produce electrocardiographic alterations and affect cardiac function. Through a computerized morphometrical analysis we quantified the areas occupied by cardiac muscle, connective and adipose tissues in the right atrium of dogs experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. All of the infected dogs showed chronic myocarditis with variable reduction levels of cardiac muscle, fibrosis and adipose tissue replacement. In the atrial myocardium of dogs infected with Be78 and Be62 cardiac muscle represented 34 and 50%, fibrosis 28 and 32% and adipose tissue 38 and 18%, respectively. The fibrosis observed was both diffuse and focal and mostly intrafascicular, either partially or completely interrupting the path of muscle bundles. Such histological alterations probably contributed to the appearance of electrocardiographic disturbances verified in 10 out 11 dogs which are also common in human chronic chagasic cardiopathy. Fibrosis was the most important microscopic occurrence found since it produces rearrangements of collagen fibers in relation to myocardiocytes which causes changes in anatomical physiognomy and mechanical behavior of the myocardium. These abnormalities can contribute to the appearance of cardiac malfunction, arrhythmias and congestive cardiac insufficiency as observed in two of the analyzed dogs. Strain Be78 caused destruction of atrial cardiac muscle higher than that induced by strain Be62