Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to evaluate the between bottle homogeneity and the minimum sample intake of a bovine kidney candidate reference material. The mass fractions of ten ...inorganic constituents were determined, obtaining satisfactory homogeneity results for all of them. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using a one way analysis of variance and multivariate techniques were applied as complementary techniques, confirming the usefulness of these techniques for homogeneity assessment.
Rare earth elements (REEs) have several applications and their market demands have increased. Recently, coal fly ash (CFA) has been considered as a source of these elements. The purpose of this study ...was to evaluate the REEs content in a CFA from a Brazilian coal power plant by instrumental neutron analysis, to classify it according to commercial purposes and to assess the weathering impact in the REEs content, since it is held in fields nearby the power plant. The results pointed no significant REEs leachability and indicated this CFA as a promising REEs source.
São Paulo state (Brazil) has one of the most overpopulated coastal zones in South America, where previous studies have already detected sediment and water contamination. However, biological-based ...monitoring considering signals of xenobiotic exposure and effects are scarce. The present study employed a battery of biomarkers under field conditions to assess the environmental quality of this coastal zone. For this purpose, the activity of CYP 450, antioxidant enzymes, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and lysosomal membrane were analysed in caged mussels and integrated using Factorial Analysis. A representation of estimated factor scores was performed in order to confirm the factor descriptions characterizing the studied areas. Biomarker responses indicated signals of mussels' impaired health during the monitoring, which pointed to the impact of different sources of contaminants in the water quality and identified critical areas. This integrated approach produced a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective assessment, which could be incorporated as a descriptor of environmental status in future coastal zones biomonitoring.
Reference materials are used worldwide and necessary for quality control purposes during analytical determinations. The present study describes the stability evaluation of a bovine kidney ...reference-material candidate. An isochronous layout was performed, in which the flasks involved are exposed at different temperatures for different time periods and then are analyzed at the same time at the end of the study. The mass fractions of ten inorganic constituents were determined using instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis, univariate and multivariate, showed no significant differences in composition between units exposed to the different temperatures and times. The reference material may be transported under normal transportation conditions and the certified values and uncertainties will continue to be valid for a period of 2 years.
Controlling seafood quality is essential to ensure its safety for human consumption. Nevertheless, scarce information is available about seafood contaminant status in complex metropolitan markets in ...Latin America. Essential and toxic elements were determined in some of the most consumed fish species in São Paulo city, Brazil. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was applied for the determination of As, Br, Co, Cs, Fe, K, Na, Rb, Se and Zn while Cd, Pb and Hg were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Mass fraction results were higher than allowed values for some elements in some fish species, especially As. However, it was not possible to affirm that the fish consumed in São Paulo city presents risk to human health.
Abstract
Brazil presented a very high number of maternal deaths and evident delays in healthcare. We aimed at evaluating the characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infection and associated outcomes in the ...obstetric population. We conducted a prospective cohort study in 15 Brazilian centers including symptomatic pregnant or postpartum women with suspected COVID-19 from Feb/2020 to Feb/2021. Women were followed from suspected infection until the end of pregnancy. We analyzed maternal characteristics and pregnancy outcomes associated with confirmed COVID-19 infection and SARS, determining unadjusted risk ratios. In total, 729 symptomatic women with suspected COVID-19 were initially included. Among those investigated for COVID-19, 51.3% (n = 289) were confirmed COVID-19 and 48% (n = 270) were negative. Initially (before May 15th), only 52.9% of the suspected cases were tested and it was the period with the highest proportion of ICU admission and maternal deaths. Non-white ethnicity (RR 1.78 1.04–3.04), primary schooling or less (RR 2.16 1.21–3.87), being overweight (RR 4.34 1.04–19.01) or obese (RR 6.55 1.57–27.37), having public prenatal care (RR 2.16 1.01–4.68), planned pregnancies (RR 2.09 1.15–3.78), onset of infection in postpartum period (RR 6.00 1.37–26.26), chronic hypertension (RR 2.15 1.37–4.10), pre-existing diabetes (RR 3.20 1.37–7.46), asthma (RR 2.22 1.14–4.34), and anaemia (RR 3.15 1.14–8.71) were associated with higher risk for SARS. The availability of tests and maternal outcomes varied throughout the pandemic period of the study; the beginning was the most challenging period, with worse outcomes. Socially vulnerable, postpartum and previously ill women were more likely to present SARS related to COVID-19.
This study aimed to evaluate the role of APOE polymorphisms (rs429358 and rs7412) in the risk of age-related macular degeneration in a sample of the Southeastern Brazilian population. Seven hundred ...and five unrelated individuals were analyzed, 334 with age-related macular degeneration (case group), and 371 without the disease (control group). In the case group, patients were further stratified according to disease phenotypes, divided into dry and wet age-related macular degeneration, and non-advanced and advanced age-related macular degeneration. APOE polymorphisms (rs429358 and rs7412) were evaluated through polymerase chain reaction and direct sequencing. In the comparison of cases vs. controls, none of the associations reached statistical significance, considering the Bonferroni-adjusted P-value, although there was a suggestive protection for the E3/E4 genotype (OR = 0.626; P-value = 0.037) and E4 carriers (OR = 0.6515; P-value = 0.047). Statistically significant protection for both the E3/E4 genotype and E4 carriers was observed in the comparisons: advanced age-related macular degeneration vs. controls (OR = 0.3665, P-value = 0.491 × 10−3 and OR = 0.4031, P-value = 0.814 × 10−3, respectively), advanced age-related macular degeneration vs. non-advanced age-related macular degeneration (OR = 0.2529, P-value = 0.659 × 10−4 and OR = 0.2692, P-value = 0.631 × 10−4, respectively). In the comparison of wet age-related macular degeneration vs. control, protection was statistically significant only for E3/E4 (OR = 0.4052, P-value = 0.001). None of the comparisons demonstrated any significant association for E2 genotypes or E2 carriers in age-related macular degeneration risk in this study. Findings suggest a protective role of the E4 haplotype in the APOE gene in the risk for advanced and wet forms of age-related macular degeneration, in a sample of the Brazilian population. To our knowledge, this is the first Brazilian study to show the association between APOE polymorphisms and age-related macular degeneration.
This study aimed to investigate the association among genetic variants of the complement pathway CFB R32Q (rs641153), C3 R102G (rs2230199), and CFH (rs1410996) with age-related macular degeneration ...(AMD) in a sample of the Brazilian population. In a case-control study, 484 AMD patients were classified according to the clinical age-related maculopathy grading system (CARMS) and compared to 479 unrelated controls. The genetic variants rs1410996 of complement H (CFH), rs641153 of complement factor B (CFB), and rs2230199 of complement 3 (C3) were evaluated through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. The associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and AMD, adjusted by age, were assessed by using logistic regression models. A statistically significant association was observed between AMD risk and rs2230199 variant with an OR of 2.01 (P = 0.0002) for CG individuals compared to CC individuals. Regarding the comparison of advanced AMD versus the control group, the OR was 2.12 (P = 0.0036) for GG versus AA genotypes for rs1410996 variant. Similarly, the OR for rs2230199 polymorphism was 2.3034 (P = 5.47e-05) when comparing CG individuals to CC carriers. In contrast, the rs641153 variant showed a significant protective effect against advanced AMD for GA versus GG genotype (OR = 0.4406; P = 0.0019). When comparing wet AMD versus controls, a significant association was detected for rs1410996 variant (OR = 2.16; P = 0.0039) comparing carriers of the homozygous GG versus AA genotype, as well as in the comparisons of GG (OR = 3.0713; P = 0.0046) and CG genotypes (OR = 2.2249; P = 0.0002) versus CC genotype for rs2230199 variant, respectively. The rs641153 variant granted a significant protective effect against wet AMD for GA versus GG genotypes (OR = 0.4601; P = 0.0044). Our study confirmed the risk association between rs2230199 and rs1410996 variants and AMD, and the protective role against AMD for rs641153 variant.
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