Indoor Air quality related to occupancy at an air-conditioned public building

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

Early administration of inhaled nitric oxide to children with acute respiratory distress syndrome and its effects on oxygenation and ventilator settings: prospective preliminary report of ten patients

Aim. To establish a protocol for the early introduction of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy in children with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and to assess its acute and sustained effects on oxygenation and ventilator settings.Patients and Methods. Ten children with ARDS, aged 1 to 132 months (median, 11 months), with arterial saturation of oxygen <88% while receiving a fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO(2)) 0.6 and a positive end-expiratory pressure of greater than or equal to 10 cm H2O were included in the study. The acute response to iNO was assessed in a 4-hour dose-response test, and positive response was defined as an increase in the PaO2/FiO(2) ratio of 10 mmHg above baseline values. Conventional therapy was not changed during the test. In the following days, patients who had shown positive response continued to receive the lowest iNO dose. Hemodynamics, PaO2/FiO(2), oxygenation index, gas exchange, and methemoglobin levels were obtained when needed. Inhaled nitric oxide withdrawal followed predetermined rules.Results. At the end of the 4-hour test, all the children showed significant improvement in the PaO2/FiO(2) ratio (63.6%) and the oxygenation index (44.9%) compared with the baseline values. Prolonged treatment was associated with improvement in oxygenation, so that FiO(2) and peak inspiratory pressure could be quickly and significantly reduced., No toxicity from methemoglobin or nitrogen dioxide was observed.Conclusion. Administration of iNO to children is safe. iNO causes rapid and sustained improvement in oxygenation without adverse effects. Ventilator settings can safely be reduced during iNO treatment.

Estimating the impact of environmental conditions on hatching results using multivariable analysis

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

Evaluation of a portable clinical analyzer for the determination of blood gas partial pressures, electrolyte concentrations, and hematocrit in venous blood samples collected from cattle, horses, and sheep

Objective To compare results reported for blood gas partial pressures, electrolyte concentrations, and Hct in venous blood samples collected from cattle, horses, and sheep and analyzed by use of a portable clinical analyzer (PCA) and reference analyzer (RA).Animals-Clinically normal animals (24 cattle, 22 horses, and 22 sheep).Procedures-pH; Pco(2); Po(2); total carbon dioxide concentration; oxygen saturation; base excess; concentrations of HCO(3)(-), Na(+), K(+), and ionized calcium; Hct; and hemoglobin concentration were determined with a PCA. Results were compared with those obtained for the same blood sample with an RA. Bias (mean difference) and variability (95% confidence interval) were determined for all data reported. Data were also subjected to analyses by Deming regression and Pearson correlation.Results-Analysis of Bland-Altman plots revealed good agreement between results obtained with the PCA and those obtained with the RA for pH and total carbon dioxide concentration in cattle, K(+) concentration in horses and sheep, and base excess in horses. Except for Na(+) concentration and Hct in horses and sheep, correlation was good or excellent for most variables reported.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Data from blood gas and electrolyte analyses obtained by use of the PCA can be used to evaluate the health status of cattle, horses, and sheep. Furthermore, the handheld PCA device may have a great advantage over the RA device as a result of the ability to analyze blood samples on farms that may be located far from urban centers. (Am J Vet Res 2010;71:515-521)

Respostas fisiológicas ao déficit hídrico em duas cultivares enxertadas de seringueira (RRIM 600 e GT 1) crescidas em campo

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

Método colorimétrico para determinação de dióxido de nitrogênio atmosférico com preconcentração em coluna de c-18

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

A new fluorescence method for determination of ozone in ambient air

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Indoor NO2 air pollution and lung function of professional cooks

Studies of cooking-generated NO2 effects are rare in occupational epidemiology. In the present study, we evaluated the lung function of professional cooks exposed to NO2 in hospital kitchens. We performed spirometry in 37 cooks working in four hospital kitchens and estimated the predicted FVC, FEV1 and FEF25-75, based on age, sex, race, weight, and height, according to Knudson standards. NO2 measurements were obtained for 4 consecutive days during 4 different periods at 20-day intervals in each kitchen. Measurements were performed inside and outside the kitchens, simultaneously using Palm diffusion tubes. A time/exposure indicator was defined as representative of the cumulative exposure of each cook. No statistically significant effect of NO2 exposure on FVC was found. Each year of work as a cook corresponded to a decrease in predicted FEV1 of 2.5% (P = 0.046) for the group as a whole. When smoking status and asthma were included in the analysis the effect of time/exposure decreased about 10% and lost statistical significance. on predicted FEF25-75, a decrease of 3.5% (P = 0.035) was observed for the same group and the inclusion of controllers for smoking status and asthma did not affect the effects of time/exposure on pulmonary function parameter. After a 10-year period of work as cooks the participants of the study may present decreases in both predicted FEV1 and FEF25-75 that can reach 20 and 30%, respectively. The present study showed small but statistically significant adverse effects of gas stove exposure on the lung function of professional cooks.

Estimativa da composição gasosa em embalagem de atmosfera modificada contendo mangas (mangifera indica l.) Cv. Keitt

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effect of fish density during transportation on stress and mortality of juvenile Tambaqui Colossoma macropomum

The increased demand for juvenile tambaqui Colossoma macropomum for grow-out ponds and stocking programs in the Amazon state of Brazil has increased the transportation of this species. This study was designed to determine the optimum density of juvenile tambaqui during transportation in closed containers. Fish (51.9 ± 3.3 g and 14.9 ± 0.4 cm) were packed in sealed plastic bags and transported for 10 h at four densities: 78, 156, 234, and 312 kg/m3. After transportation, fish from each density were kept in separate 500-L tanks for 96 h. Mortality, 96-h cumulative mortality, water quality, and blood parameters (hematocrit, plasma cortisol, and glucose) were monitored. Fish mortality after transportation was significantly lower at densities of 78 and 156 kg/m3 than at 234 and 312 kg/m3. Cumulative mortality was significantly lower at a density of 78 kg/m3. Dissolved oxygen after 10 h of transportation remained high at a density of 78 kg/m3, but reached critically low values at all other densities. Ammonia concentration was highest at the lowest density and was lower at higher densities. Carbon dioxide concentration was lowest at the density of 78 kg/m3 but higher in the other treatments. Plasma glucose and cortisol increased significantly immediately after transportation at densities of 156, 234, and 312 kg/m3, returning to control values by 24 h. The best density for juvenile tambaqui during a 10-h transportation haul in a closed container was 78 kg/m3. At this density there was no fish mortality, water quality was kept within acceptable values, and fish were not stressed.

End-to-end validation of EPS / MetOp GOME-2 trace gas data

Within the next decade, the improved version 2 of Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME-2), a ultraviolet-visible spectrometer dedicated to the observation of key atmospheric trace species from space, will be launched successively on board three EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) MetOp satellites. Starting with the launch of MetOp-1 scheduled for summer 2006, the GOME-2 series will extend till 2020 the global monitoring of atmospheric composition pioneered with ERS-2 GOME-1 since 1995 and enhanced with Envisat SCIAMACHY since 2002 and EOS-Aura OMI since 2004. For more than a decade, an international pool of scientific teams active in ground-and space-based ultraviolet-visible remote sensing have contributed to the successful post-launch validation of trace gas data products and the associated maturation of retrieval algorithms for the latter satellites, ensuring that geophysical data products are/become reliable and accurate enough for intended research and applications. Building on this experience, this consortium plans now to develop and carry out appropriate validation of a list of GOME-2 trace gas column data of both tropospheric and stratospheric relevance: nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), ozone (O 3), bromine monoxide (BrO), chlorine dioxide (OClO), formaldehyde (HCHO), and sulphur dioxide (SO 2). The proposed investigation will combine four complementary approaches resulting in an end-to-end validation of expected column data products.

GDP 4.0 transfer to SGP 3.0 for SCIAMACHY no2 column processing: Verification with SDOAS / GDOAS prototype algorithms and delta-validation with NDACC / UV-visible network data

Until mid 2006, SCIAMACHY data processors for the operational retrieval of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) column data were based on the historical version 2 of the GOME Data Processor (GDP). On top of known problems inherent to GDP 2, ground-based validations of SCIAMACHY NO2 data revealed issues specific to SCIAMACHY, like a large cloud-dependent offset occurring at Northern latitudes. In 2006, the GDOAS prototype algorithm of the improved GDP version 4 was transferred to the off-line SCIAMACHY Ground Processor (SGP) version 3.0. In parallel, the calibration of SCIAMACHY radiometric data was upgraded. Before operational switch-on of SGP 3.0 and public release of upgraded SCIAMACHY NO2 data, we have investigated the accuracy of the algorithm transfer: (a) by checking the consistency of SGP 3.0 with prototype algorithms; and (b) by comparing SGP 3.0 NO2 data with ground-based observations reported by the WMO/GAW NDACC network of UV-visible DOAS/SAOZ spectrometers. This delta-validation study concludes that SGP 3.0 is a significant improvement with respect to the previous processor IPF 5.04. For three particular SCIAMACHY states, the study reveals unexplained features in the slant columns and air mass factors, although the quantitative impact on SGP 3.0 vertical columns is not significant.

Balance of pH of chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to thermal stress

This study aimed to verify that chicks from eggs injected with ascorbic acid and subjected to heat stress would have changes in acid-base balance, compared to chicks incubated at thermoneutral without injection of ascorbic acid. The parameters evaluated were blood pressure of carbon dioxide and oxygen, base excess, total carbon dioxide, concentration of sodium, potassium, ionized calcium, bicarbonate and pH of newly hatched male chicks, hatched from eggs injected with acid ascorbic acid (AA) and subjected to heat stress during incubation. The experimental design was completely randomized in factorial scheme 5 (application levels of ascorbic acid) x 2 (incubation temperatures). The data were subjected to analysis of variance using the General Linear Model procedure (GLM) of SAS ®. For the blood pH was observed significant interaction (p <0.05) between treatments with application in eggs and incubation temperatures. For the other parameters were not significant effects (p< 0.05) of AA level and neither temperature of incubation. Analyzing the unfolding of the interaction to pH was observed that chicks from eggs injected with 6% ascorbic acid and subjected to heat stress during incubation had a higher pH value compared with the thermoneutral temperature incubated (p <0.05). Therefore, it is suggested that the incubation of eggs in high temperature (39°C) can alter the metabolic rate of these embryos.

Imobilização e caracterização parcial de lipase produzida por Fusarium oxysporum em fermentação submersa

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Poluição do ar por veículos automotores e tipos de tempo em áreas metropolitanas: a elaboração de um roteiro metodológico

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)