Characterization of corn (Zea mays) leaf powder and Its adsorption properties regarding Cu(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous samples

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Metalloproteomic profile determination of muscle samples from nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) using AAS and ESI-MS/MS after 2D-PAGE separation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Biodegradation of PP and PE blended with PHBV in soil samples

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Analytical procedures for cadmium determination in facial make-up samples by graphite furnace AAS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Determination of estrogenic mycotoxins in environmental water samples by low-toxicity dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A novel, simple, rapid and eco-friendly method based on dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction using a bromosolvent was developed to determine six estrogenic mycotoxins (zearalenone, zearalanone, alpha-zearalanol, beta-zearalanol, alpha-zearalenol and beta-zearalenol) in water samples by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry in the negative mode (LC-ESI-MS/MS). The optimal conditions for this method include the use of 100 mu L bromocyclohexane as an extraction solvent (using a non-dispersion solvent), 10 mL of aqueous sample (adjusted to pH 4), a vortex extraction time of 2 min, centrifugation for 10 min at 3500 rpm and no ionic strength adjustment. The calibration function was linear and was verified by applying the Mandel fitting test with a 95% confidence level. No matrix effect was observed. According to the relative standard deviations (RSDs), the precision was better than 13% for the repeatability and intermediate precision. The average recoveries of the spiked compounds ranged from 81 to 118%. The method limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) considering a 125-fold pre-concentration step were 4-20 and 8-40 ng L-1, respectively. Next, the method was applied to the analysis of the environmental aqueous samples, demonstrating the presence of beta-zearalanol and zearalanone in the river water samples. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Superconducting properties of a parallelepiped mesoscopic superconductor: a comparative study between the 2D and 3D Ginzburg-Landau models

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Improving DNA extraction quality by the salting-out method to prepare blood samples for real-time PCR.

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Metalloproteomic approach of mercury in breast milk samples of lactating women in the Amazon region, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influence of thermal gradient in vortex states of mesoscopic superconductors

In general, the studies of finite size effects in mesoscopic superconductors have been carried out in such a way that the temperature parameter is constant in the entire system. However, we could have situations where a real sample is near a heater source, as an example. In such situations, gradients of temperature are present. On the other hand, mesoscopic superconductors are interesting systems due to the fact that they present confinement effects which influence all the vortex dynamics. Thus, in this work we studied the influence of thermal gradients on the vortex dynamics in mesoscopic superconductors. For this purposes, we used the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations. The thermal gradients produce an asymmetric distribution of the currents around the system which, in turn, yield interesting vortex configurations and difficult the formation of giant vortices.

Taenia saginata: polymerase chain reaction for taeniasis diagnosis in human fecal samples

The taeniasis-cysticercosis complex is a zoonosis of great medical and economic importance where humans play an important role as the carrier of adult stage of Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. This paper describes PCR standardization that can be applied in human fecal samples for taeniasis diagnosis. DNA extraction was achieved with DNAzol reagent, after egg disruption with glass beads. DNA prepared from fecal specimens was first purified and PCR amplified generating fragments of 170 and 600 bp. The assay described herein provides an important tool for T. saginata identification in human fecal samples.

Thyroid hormone status interferes with estrogen target gene expression in breast cancer samples in menopausal women

We investigated thyroid hormone levels in menopausal BrC patients and verified the action of triiodothyronine on genes regulated by estrogen and by triiodothyronine itself in BrC tissues. We selected 15 postmenopausal BrC patients and a control group of 18 postmenopausal women without BrC. We measured serum TPO-AB, TSH, FT4, and estradiol, before and after surgery, and used immunohistochemistry to examine estrogen and progesterone receptors. BrC primary tissue cultures received the following treatments: ethanol, triiodothyronine, triiodothyronine plus 4-hydroxytamoxifen, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, estrogen, or estrogen plus 4-hydroxytamoxifen. Genes regulated by estrogen (TGFA, TGFB1, and PGR) and by triiodothyronine (TNFRSF9, BMP-6, and THRA) in vitro were evaluated. TSH levels in BrC patients did not differ from those of the control group (1.34 ± 0.60 versus 2.41 ± 1.10  μ U/mL), but FT4 levels of BrC patients were statistically higher than controls (1.78 ± 0.20 versus 0.95 ± 0.16 ng/dL). TGFA was upregulated and downregulated after estrogen and triiodothyronine treatment, respectively. Triiodothyronine increased PGR expression; however 4-hydroxytamoxifen did not block triiodothyronine action on PGR expression. 4-Hydroxytamoxifen, alone or associated with triiodothyronine, modulated gene expression of TNFRSF9, BMP-6, and THRA, similar to triiodothyronine treatment. Thus, our work highlights the importance of thyroid hormone status evaluation and its ability to interfere with estrogen target gene expression in BrC samples in menopausal women.

HLA-E coding and 3' untranslated region variability determined by next-generation sequencing in two West-African population samples

HLA-E is a non-classical Human Leucocyte Antigen class I gene with immunomodulatory properties. Whereas HLA-E expression usually occurs at low levels, it is widely distributed amongst human tissues, has the ability to bind self and non-self antigens and to interact with NK cells and T lymphocytes, being important for immunosurveillance and also for fighting against infections. HLA-E is usually the most conserved locus among all class I genes. However, most of the previous studies evaluating HLA-E variability sequenced only a few exons or genotyped known polymorphisms. Here we report a strategy to evaluate HLA-E variability by next-generation sequencing (NGS) that might be used to other HLA loci and present the HLA-E haplotype diversity considering the segment encoding the entire HLA-E mRNA (including 5'UTR, introns and the 3'UTR) in two African population samples, Susu from Guinea-Conakry and Lobi from Burkina Faso. Our results indicate that (a) the HLA-E gene is indeed conserved, encoding mainly two different protein molecules; (b) Africans do present several unknown HLA-E alleles presenting synonymous mutations; (c) the HLA-E 3'UTR is quite polymorphic and (d) haplotypes in the HLA-E 3'UTR are in close association with HLA-E coding alleles. NGS has proved to be an important tool on data generation for future studies evaluating variability in non-classical MHC genes.

Modulatory effects of propolis samples from Latin America (Brazil, Cuba and Mexico) on cytokine production by human monocytes

Propolis has been used in folk medicine in different regions of the world including Latin America. Propolis is a resinous mixture of substances collected by honey bees from several botanical sources, and its composition contains a rich chemical variety, depending on the geographical area and plant sources. Our aim was to compare the modulatory effect of propolis samples from three different countries of Latin America (Brazil, Cuba and Mexico) on pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10, respectively) by human monocytes. Cells were incubated with propolis for 18 h at 37°C. Cell viability was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide method, and cytokine production was determined by ELISA. All samples did not affect monocyte viability. Brazilian propolis stimulated both TNF-α and IL-10 production by monocytes. Cuban propolis stimulated TNF-α and inhibited IL-10 production, while Mexican sample exerted the opposite effect, inhibiting TNF-α and stimulating IL-10 production. The major compounds found in Brazilian, Cuban and Mexican propolis samples were artepillin C, isoflavonoids and pinocembrin, respectively. Brazilian, Cuban and Mexican propolis contained different components that may exert pro- and anti-inflammatory activity depending on concentration, what may provide a novel approach to the development of immunomodulatory drugs containing propolis.

Using SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis to assess disperse dyes in environmental water samples

We have optimized an SPE-LC-ESI-MS/MS method and used it to monitor disperse azo dyes in environmental aquatic samples. Calibration curves constructed for nine disperse dyes-Red 1, Violet 93, Blue 373, Orange 1, Orange 3, Orange 25, Yellow 3, Yellow 7 and Red 13-in aqueous solution presented good linearity between 2.0 and 100.0 ng mL(-1). The method provided limits of detection and quantification around 2.0 and 8.0 ng L(-1), respectively. For dyes at concentrations of 25.0 ng mL(-1), the intra- and interday analyses afforded relative standard deviation lower than 6 and 13%, respectively. The recovery values obtained for each target analyte in Milli-Q water, receiving waters and treated water samples spiked with the nine studied dyes at concentrations of 8.0, 25.0 and 50.0 ng L(-1) (n = 3) gave average recoveries greater than 70%, with RSD <20%. Statistical evaluation aided method validation. The validated method proved to be useful for analysis of organic extracts from effluents and receiving water samples after an SPE extraction step. More specifically, the method enabled detection of the dyes Disperse Red 1, Disperse Blue 373 and Disperse Violet 93 at concentrations ranging from 84 to 3452 ng L(-1) in the treated effluent (TE), affluent and points collected upstream and downstream of the drinking water treatment plant of a textile dye industry in Brazil.

Development, validation, and application of a method for the GC-MS analysis of fipronil and three of its degradation products in samples of water, soil, and sediment

A method for the identification and quantification of pesticide residues in water, soil, and sediment samples has been developed, validated, and applied for the analysis of real samples. The specificity was determined by the retention time and the confirmation and quantification of analyte ions. Linearity was demonstrated over the concentration range of 20 to 120 µg L(-1), and the correlation coefficients varied between 0.979 and 0.996, depending on the analytes. The recovery rates for all analytes in the studied matrix were between 86% and 112%. The intermediate precision and repeatability were determined at three concentration levels (40, 80, and 120 µg L(-1)), with the relative standard deviation for the intermediate precision between 1% and 5.3% and the repeatability varying between 2% and 13.4% for individual analytes. The limits of detection and quantification for fipronil, fipronil sulfide, fipronil-sulfone, and fipronil-desulfinyl were 6.2, 3.0, 6.6, and 4.0 ng L(-1) and 20.4, 9.0, 21.6, and 13.0 ng L(-1), respectively. The method developed was used in water, soil, and sediment samples containing 2.1 mg L(-1) and 1.2% and 5.3% of carbon, respectively. The recovery of pesticides in the environmental matrices varied from 88.26 to 109.63% for the lowest fortification level (40 and 100 µg kg(-1)), from 91.17 to 110.18% for the intermediate level (80 and 200 µg kg(-1)), and from 89.09 to 109.82% for the highest fortification level (120 and 300 µg kg(-1)). The relative standard deviation for the recovery of pesticides was under 15%.