Relationship between weight, age and hatching success and the concentration of heavy metals in nestling blue macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus Latham, 1790) in the Pantanal,Mato Grosso do Sul

Abstract: The concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Mo, Ni, Se and Zn) was evaluated in the blood of nestling blue macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) captured in the Pantanal, Mato Grosso do Sul (n=26) in 2012; this was based on the hypothesis that these birds exhibit levels of these heavy metals in their organism and that these interfere in hatching success, weight and age of the chicks. Blood samples were digested with nitric acid and hydrochloric acid and the quantification of metals was performed by ICP-OES (Optical Emission Spectroscopy and Inductively Coupled Plasma). Blood samples of nestlings showed concentrations of Cr (0.10μg/g) Fe (3.06μg/g) Al (3.46μg/g), Cd (0.25μg/g) Cu (0.74μg/g), Mo (0.33μg/g), Ni (0.61μg/g), Se (0.98μg/g), and Zn (2.08μg/g). The levels of heavy metals found were not associated with weight, age and hatching success of the chicks.

Quantitative evidence for neurofilament heavy subunit aggregation in motor neurons of spinal cords of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease of unknown etiology, affects motor neurons leading to atrophy of skeletal muscles, paralysis and death. There is evidence for the accumulation of neurofilaments (NF) in motor neurons of the spinal cord in ALS cases. NF are major structural elements of the neuronal cytoskeleton. They play an important role in cell architecture and differentiation and in the determination and maintenance of fiber caliber. They are composed of three different polypeptides: light (NF-L), medium (NF-M) and heavy (NF-H) subunits. In the present study, we performed a morphological and quantitative immunohistochemical analysis to evaluate the accumulation of NF and the presence of each subunit in control and ALS cases. Spinal cords from patients without neurological disease and from ALS patients were obtained at autopsy. In all ALS cases there was a marked loss of motor neurons, besides atrophic neurons and preserved neurons with cytoplasmic inclusions, and extensive gliosis. In control cases, the immunoreaction in the cytoplasm of neurons was weak for phosphorylated NF-H, strong for NF-M and weak for NF-L. In ALS cases, anterior horn neurons showed intense immunoreactivity in focal regions of neuronal perikarya for all subunits, although the difference in the integrated optical density was statistically significant only for NF-H. Furthermore, we also observed dilated axons (spheroids), which were immunopositive for NF-H but negative for NF-M and NF-L. In conclusion, we present qualitative and quantitative evidence of NF-H subunit accumulation in neuronal perikarya and spheroids, which suggests a possible role of this subunit in the pathogenesis of ALS.

Heavy metals investigation in bovine tissues in Brazil

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of arsenic, lead, and cadmium residues in samples of liver, kidney, and muscle of cattle during the years of 2002 to 2008. A total of 1017 samples from 20 Brazilian States were used. The samples were analyzed at the National Agricultural Laboratory using the atomic absorption spectrometry technique. Arsenic residues were detected in 15.7% of liver samples and 28.7% of kidney samples although no results have exceeded the MRL. With regard to lead, 16 samples of liver and 74 samples of kidney were contaminated (5.2 and 10.9%, respectively). Among these samples, only one liver and two of kidney samples had lead levels above the MRL. Cadmium was found with levels below the MRL in 12.5% of the liver samples, and only 3 samples (1%) were quantified above the MRL. Among the kidney samples, 420 (60.8% of the total tested) had cadmium residues, and five of them exceeded the limits established by legislation. It is concluded that the Brazilian meat meets the legislation requirements without putting consumer's healthy at risk since as it satisfies the national and international food-safety conditions.