Spatial identification of the vulnerability of aquifers to contamination through environmental indicators

As águas subterrâneas são um recurso valioso para suprir as necessidades humanas, servindo de múltiplos usos como abastecimento, irrigação, estâncias hidrominerais termais e engarrafamento de água mineral. Todavia o risco de poluição de aquíferos, relacionada à ausência de monitoramento do ambiente, obriga à busca de novas informações e tecnologias para mitigar os efeitos contaminantes. O estudo objetivou mapear a vulnerabilidade à contaminação de aquíferos sob a Unidade de Negócio Oeste SABESP (MO), por meio do método do Índice de Susceptibilidade (IS) que se baseia em cinco variáveis físicas. Foram usados como amostras 230 poços tubulares cadastrados no Sistema de Informações de Águas Subterrâneas (SIAGAS). Como resultado, a MO apresentou um IS variando de risco extremamente baixo a risco moderado-alto, com um risco médio de 45 pontos, classificado como baixo e que as áreas mais vulneráveis à contaminação estão localizadas em perímetro urbano. Conclui-se que a espacialização do IS é eficiente na identificação de áreas que estão mais suscetíveis às cargas poluentes, além de auxiliar no planejamento ambiental.Groundwater is a valuable resource for supply human needs. The aquifers pollution depends on the lack of urban monitoring and management tools for pollution actions. The purpose of this article was to determine the vulnerability to aquifer contamination in the SABESP-Oeste (MO) Business Unit. The methodology consisted of collecting data in digital geoprocessing databases and calculating the Susceptibility Index (IS). A sample of this study considered data from 230 tubular wells registered in the Groundwater Information System (SIAGAS). The results indicated that the risk is low to extremely low, in most of the OM. However, the Osasco region presents a moderate to high risk of contamination, similar to the municipality of Carapicuíba and the northern portion of the municipality of São Paulo, classifying these areas as the most vulnerable to contamination of the soil and water resources as other in the urban perimeter. The IS contributed to the current diagnosis of vulnerability to contamination and can subsidize public policies in territorial management. Environmental control and monitoring are essential to minimize contamination from human and industrial activities, irregularly

Chemical and nano-mineralogical study for determining potential uses of legal Colombian gold mine sludge: Experimental evidence

The present study is focused on the chemical and nano-mineralogical characterization of sludge from gold mine activities, in order to put forward diverse solution alternatives, where lack of knowledge has been found. The sample was collected from “La Estrella” mine of Suarez, located in Department of Cauca, south-west Colombia. The sludge micro-structure and chemical composition were analyzed using a high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) equipped with a dispersive X-ray detector (EDS). X-ray diffraction technique was employed to identify the mineralogical phases present in the sludge. Additional mineralogical characterization was done by using RAMAN spectroscopy. Main findings points to its potential to be used as a fertilizer, this is why, mine sludge contains macronutrients such as P, Ca and S, together with micronutrients like Cu. However, the presence of goethite could decrease the mobilization of nutrients to soils, thus additional alternatives, for instance, a mixture with humus or another material containing Humic Acids should be done, in order to minimizing its retention effect. Additionally, another possible uses to explore could be as construction and ceramic material or in the wastewater treatment for nutrient retention and organic material removal. Rutile (TiO2 nanoparticles) particles have been also detected, what could cause health concern due to its nanoparticle toxic character, mainly during gold extraction process

Disfunção temporomandibular e fatores associados em trabalhadores da indústria

Objetivo: Identificar a prevalência e fatores associados às Disfunções Temporomandibulares (DTM) em trabalhadores da indústria. Método: Estudo de corte transversal realizado com 1.252 trabalhadores da indústria atendidos pelo Serviço Social da Indústria (SESI), no Distrito Federal de seis estados brasileiros, em 2011. Os dados de risco ocupacional foram coletados na anamnese e entrevista ao paciente ou consulta ao PPRA/PCMSO. Adotou-se o Manual de Critérios do SESI para determinar a presença de DTM através de sinais e sintomas. Procedeu-se à análise multivariada de regressão logística, estimando o OR e Intervalo de Confiança a 95%, analisando o ajustamento pelo método da máxima verossimilhança. Resultados: Dos participantes, 15,50% apresentam algum sinal e sintoma de DTM. O ruído foi o sinal mais expressivo da ocorrência da DTM (10,14%). Observou-se associação com o sexo feminino (OR ajustado = 1,68; 1,19-2,35 IC 95%), raça/cor da pele negra/parda (OR ajustado = 1,76; IC 95%: 1,21-2,56), uso de tabaco (OR ajustado = 1,89; IC 95%: 1,18-3,04) e exposições ocupacionais a agentes físicos (OR ajustado = 1,81; IC 95%: 1,22-2,70) e ergonômicos (OR ajustado: 1,72; IC 95%: 1,18-2,51). Conclusão: Houve baixa prevalência de DTM na população da indústria. Encontrou-se associação estatisticamente significante com sexo feminino, fumante, etnia negra/parda e exposição a agentes físicos e ergonômicos no ambiente laboral, reforçando a importância da adoção de medidas preventivas para a melhoria da qualidade de vida do trabalhador

Acute Chagas disease associated with ingestion of contaminated food in Brazilian western Amazon

Funding Information: We would like to thank the following institutions for all the support they accorded: Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation Dr. Rosimary Costa Pinto (FVS‐RCP/AM), the Municipal Health Departments of the affected by the outbreaks and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas for their financial support in acquiring materials for the molecular detection of the parasite. We would also like to thank the public health surveillance teams and the patients who agreed to participate in this study. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Belgian Society of Tropical Medicine and the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine.Objective: To describe clinical, epidemiological and management information on cases of acute Chagas disease (ACD) by oral transmission in the state of Amazonas in western Amazon. Methods: Manual and electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with ACD at the Fundação de Medicina Tropical Doutor Heitor Vieira Dourado (FMT-HVD) were included. Results: There were 147 cases of acute CD registered from 10 outbreaks that occurred in the state of Amazonas between 2004 and 2022. The transmission pathway was through oral route, with probable contaminated palm fruit juice (açaí and/or papatuá), and involved people from the same family, friends or neighbours. Of 147 identified cases, 87 (59%) were males; cases were aged 10 months to 82 years. The most common symptom was the febrile syndrome (123/147; 91.8%); cardiac alterations were present in 33/100 (33%), (2/147; 1.4%) had severe ACD with meningoencephalitis, and 12 (8.2%) were asymptomatic. Most cases were diagnosed through thick blood smear (132/147; 89.8%), a few (14/147; 9.5%) were diagnosed by serology and (1/147; 0.7%) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and blood culture. In all these outbreaks, 74.1% of the patients were analysed by PCR, and Trypanosoma cruzi TcIV was detected in all of them. No deaths were recorded. The incidence of these foci coincided with the fruit harvest period in the state of Amazonas. Conclusion: The occurrence of ACD outbreaks in the Amazon affected individuals of both sexes, young adults, living in rural and peri-urban areas and related to the consumption of regional foods. Early diagnosis is an important factor in surveillance. There was a low frequency of cardiac alterations. Continuous follow-up of most patients was not carried out due to difficulty in getting to specialised centres; therefore, little is known about post-treatment.publishersversioninpres

RELAÇÃO ENTRE A REGULAÇÃO AUTONÔMICA CARDÍACA E MECANISMOS AUDITIVOS: IMPORTÂNCIA PARA O CRESCIMENTO E DESENVOLVIMENTO

The literature has already demonstrated that auditory stimulation with music influences thecardiovascular system. In this study, we performed a literature review in order to investigate therelationship between auditory mechanisms and cardiac autonomic regulation. The selected studiesindicated that there is a strong correlation between noise intensity and vagal-sympathetic balance.Also, it was reported that music therapy improved heart rate variability in anthracycline-treatedbreast cancer patients. It was hypothesized that dopamine release in the striatal system induced bypleasure songs are involved in the cardiac autonomic regulation. Further studies are necessary toadd new elements in the literature to improve new therapies to treat cardiovascular disorders.A literatura já demonstrou que a estimulação auditiva por meio de música influencia o sistemacardiovascular. Neste estudo, foi realizada uma revisão da literatura, a fim de investigar a relaçãoentre os mecanismos auditivos e a regulação autonômica cardíaca. Os estudos selecionados indicaramforte correlação entre a intensidade do ruído e o equilíbrio simpatovagal. Além disso, foi relatadoque a terapia com música melhorou a variabilidade da frequência cardíaca em pacientes com câncerde mama tratados com antraciclinas. Postula-se que a dopamina liberada no sistema estriatal,induzida por canções alegres, está envolvida na regulação autonômica. Estudos posteriores sãonecessários para adicionar novos elementos na literatura, para melhorar a novas terapias e para otratar doenças cardiovasculares

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors