Biodegradation rate constants in different NF/UF fractions of cork processing wastewaters

Cork processing wastewater is an aqueous complex mixture of organic compounds that have been extracted from cork planks during the boiling process. These compounds, such as polysaccharides and polyphenols, have different biodegradability rates, which depend not only on the natureof the compound but also on the size of the compound. The aim of this study is to determine the biochemical oxygen demands (BOD) and biodegradationrate constants (k) for different cork wastewater fractions with different organic matter characteristics. These wastewater fractions were obtained using membrane separation processes, namely nanofiltration (NF) and ultrafiltration (UF). The nanofiltration and ultrafiltration membranes molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO) ranged from 0.125 to 91 kDa. The results obtained showed that the biodegradation rate constant for the cork processing wastewater was around 0.3 d(-1) and the k values for the permeates varied between 0.27-0.72 d(-1), being the lower values observed for permeates generated by the membranes with higher MWCO and the higher values observed for the permeates generated by the membranes with lower MWCO. These higher k values indicate that the biodegradable organic matter that is permeated by the membranes with tighter MWCO is more readily biodegradated.

Image quality of myocardial perfusion-gated studies: effect of ingestion of different fat content in the reduction of extra-myocardial abdominal signal

Myocardial perfusion-gated-SPECT (MP-gated-SPECT) imaging often shows radiotracer uptake in abdominal organs. This accumulation interferes frequently with qualitative and quantitative assessment of the infero-septal region of myocardium. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of ingestion of different fat content on the reduction of extra-myocardial uptake and to improve MP-gated-SPECT image quality. In this study, 150 patients (65 ^ 18 years) who were referred for MP-gated-SPECT underwent a 1-day-protocol including imaging after stress (physical or pharmacological) and resting conditions. All patients gave written informed consent. Patients were subdivided into five groups: GI, GII, GIII, GIV and GV. In the first four groups, patients ate two chocolate bars with different fat content. Patients in GV – control group (CG) – had just water. Uptake indices (UI) of myocardium (M)/liver(L) and M/stomach–proximal bowel(S) revealed lower UI of M/S at rest in all groups. Both stress and rest studies using different food intake indicate that patients who ate chocolate with different fat content showed better UI of M/L than the CG. The UI of M/L and M/S of groups obtained under physical stress are clearly superior to that of groups obtained under pharmacological stress. These differences are only significant in patients who ate high-fat chocolate or drank water. The analysis of all stress studies together (GI, GII, GIII and GIV) in comparison with CG shows higher mean ranks of UI of M/L for those who ate high-fat chocolate. After pharmacological stress, the mean ranks of UI of M/L were higher for patients who ate high- and low-fat chocolate. In conclusion, eating food with fat content after radiotracer injection increases, respectively, the UI of M/L after stress and rest in MP-gated-SPECT studies. It is, therefore, recommended that patients eat a chocolate bar after radiotracer injection and before image acquisition.

Resistance to β-lactams in bacteria isolated from different types of Portuguese cheese

The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of beta-lactam-resistant bacteria in six different types of Portuguese cheese. The numbers of ampicillin resistant (AMP(r)) bacteria varied from 4.7 x 10(2) to 1.5 x 10(7) CFU/g. Within 172 randomly selected beta-lactam-resistant bacteria, 44 resistant phenotypes were found and 31.4% were multidrug resistant. The majority (85%) of the isolates identified belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family. The presence of the bla(TEM) gene was detected in 80.9% of the tested isolates. The results suggest that without thermal processing of the milk and good hygienic practices, cheese may act as a vehicle of transfer of beta-lactam-resistant bacteria to the gastrointestinal tract of consumers.

Lipid content of frozen fish: comparison of different extraction methods and variability during freezing storage

In this work, a microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) methodology was compared with several conventional extraction methods (Soxhlet, Bligh & Dyer, modified Bligh & Dyer, Folch, modified Folch, Hara & Radin, Roese-Gottlieb) for quantification of total lipid content of three fish species: horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). The influence of species, extraction method and frozen storage time (varying from fresh to 9 months of freezing) on total lipid content was analysed in detail. The efficiencies of methods MAE, Bligh & Dyer, Folch, modified Folch and Hara & Radin were the highest and although they were not statistically different, differences existed in terms of variability, with MAE showing the highest repeatability (CV = 0.034). Roese-Gottlieb, Soxhlet, and modified Bligh & Dyer methods were very poor in terms of efficiency as well as repeatability (CV between 0.13 and 0.18).

Lipid content and fatty acid profile of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858) juveniles as affected by feed containing different amounts of plant protein sources

A growth trial with Senegalese Sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858) juveniles fed with diets containing increasing replacement levels of fishmeal by mixtures of plant protein sources was conducted over 12 weeks. Total fat contents of muscle, liver, viscera, skin, fins and head tissues were determined, as well as fatty acid profiles of muscle and liver (GC-FID analysis). Liver was the preferential local for fat deposition (5.5–10.8% of fat) followed by fins (3.4–6.7% fat). Increasing levels of plant protein in the diets seems to be related to increased levels of total lipids in the liver. Sole muscle is lean (2.4–4.0% fat), with total lipids being similar among treatments. Liver fatty acid profile varied significantly among treatments. Plant protein diets induced increased levels of C16:1 and C18:2 n -6 and a decrease in ARA and EPA levels. Muscle fatty acid profile also evidenced increasing levels of C18:2 n 6, while ARA and DHA remained similar among treatments. Substitution of fishmeal by plant protein is hence possible without major differences on the lipid content and fatty acid profile of the main edible portion of the fish – the muscle.

Determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons in soil from different locations using infrared spectrophotometry and gas chromatography

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are important environmental contaminants which are toxic to human and environmental receptors. Several analytical methods have been used to quantify TPH levels in contaminated soils, specifically through infrared spectrometry (IR) and gas chromatography (GC). Despite being two of the most used techniques, some issues remain that have been inadequately studied: a) applicability of both techniques to soils contaminated with two distinct types of fuel (petrol and diesel), b) influence of the soil natural organic matter content on the results achieved by various analytical methods, and c) evaluation of the performance of both techniques in analyses of soils with different levels of contamination (presumably non-contaminated and potentially contaminated). The main objectives of this work were to answer these questions and to provide more complete information about the potentials and limitations of GC and IR techniques. The results led us to the following conclusions: a) IR analysis of soils contaminated with petrol is not suitable due to volatilisation losses, b) there is a significant influence of organic matter in IR analysis, and c) both techniques demonstrated the capacity to accurately quantify TPH in soils, irrespective of their contamination levels.

Comparison of different breast planning techniques and algorithms for radiation therapy treatment

This work aims at investigating the impact of treating breast cancer using different radiation therapy (RT) techniques – forwardly-planned intensity-modulated, f-IMRT, inversely-planned IMRT and dynamic conformal arc (DCART) RT – and their effects on the whole-breast irradiation and in the undesirable irradiation of the surrounding healthy tissues. Two algorithms of iPlan BrainLAB treatment planning system were compared: Pencil Beam Convolution (PBC) and commercial Monte Carlo (iMC). Seven left-sided breast patients submitted to breast-conserving surgery were enrolled in the study. For each patient, four RT techniques – f-IMRT, IMRT using 2-fields and 5-fields (IMRT2 and IMRT5, respectively) and DCART – were applied. The dose distributions in the planned target volume (PTV) and the dose to the organs at risk (OAR) were compared analyzing dose–volume histograms; further statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS v20 software. For PBC, all techniques provided adequate coverage of the PTV. However, statistically significant dose differences were observed between the techniques, in the PTV, OAR and also in the pattern of dose distribution spreading into normal tissues. IMRT5 and DCART spread low doses into greater volumes of normal tissue, right breast, right lung and heart than tangential techniques. However, IMRT5 plans improved distributions for the PTV, exhibiting better conformity and homogeneity in target and reduced high dose percentages in ipsilateral OAR. DCART did not present advantages over any of the techniques investigated. Differences were also found comparing the calculation algorithms: PBC estimated higher doses for the PTV, ipsilateral lung and heart than the iMC algorithm predicted.

On clustering interval data with different scales of measures : experimental results

This article is is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon work non-commercially, and although the new works must also acknowledge & be non-commercial.

Comparison of Aspergillus species-complexes detected in different environmental settings

Purpose: Samples from different environmental sources were screened for the presence of Aspergillus, and the distribution of the different species-complexes was determined in order to understand differences among that distribution in the several environmental sources and which of these species complexes are present in specific environmental settings. Methods: Four distinct environments (beaches, poultries, swineries and hospital) were studied and analyzed for which Aspergillus complexes were present in each setting. After plate incubation and colony isolation, morphological identification was done using macro- and microscopic characteristics. The universal fungal primers ITS1 and ITS4 were used to amplify DNA from all Aspergillus isolates, which was sequenced for identification to species complex level. SPSS v15.0 for Windows was used to perform the statistical analysis. Results: Thirty-nine isolates of Aspergillus were recovered from both the sand beach and poultries, 31 isolates from swineries, and 80 isolates from hospital environments, for a total 189 isolates. Eleven species complexes were found total. Isolates belonging to the Aspergillus Versicolores species-complex were the most frequently found (23.8%), followed by Flavi (18.0%), Fumigati (15.3%) and Nigri (13.2%) complexes. A significant association was found between the different environmental sources and the distribution of the several species-complexes (p<0.001); the hospital environment had a greater variability of species-complexes than other environmental locations (10 in hospital environment, against nine in swine, eight in poultries and seven in sand beach). Isolates belonging to Nidulantes complex were detected only in the hospital environment, whereas the other complexes were identified in more than one setting. Conclusion: Because different Aspergillus complexes have different susceptibilities to antifungal drugs, and different abilities in producing mycotoxins, knowledge of the species-complex epidemiology for each setting may allow preventive or corrective measures to be taken toward decreasing professional workers or patient exposure to those agents.

Monitorization of alveolar deposited surface area of nanoparticles and ultrafine particles in different environments

Nanotechnology is an important emerging industry with a projected annual market of around one trillion dollars by 2015. It involves the control of atoms and molecules to create new materials with a variety of useful functions. Although there are advantages on the utilization of these nano-scale materials, questions related with its impact over the environment and human health must be addressed too, so that potential risks can be limited at early stages of development. At this time, occupational health risks associated with manufacturing and use of nanoparticles are not yet clearly understood. However, workers may be exposed to nanoparticles through inhalation at levels that can greatly exceed ambient concentrations. Current workplace exposure limits are based on particle mass, but this criteria could not be adequate in this case as nanoparticles are characterized by very large surface area, which has been pointed out as the distinctive characteristic that could even turn out an inert substance into another substance exhibiting very different interactions with biological fluids and cells. Therefore, it seems that, when assessing human exposure based on the mass concentration of particles, which is widely adopted for particles over 1 μm, would not work in this particular case. In fact, nanoparticles have far more surface area for the equivalent mass of larger particles, which increases the chance they may react with body tissues. Thus, it has been claimed that surface area should be used for nanoparticle exposure and dosing. As a result, assessing exposure based on the measurement of particle surface area is of increasing interest. It is well known that lung deposition is the most efficient way for airborne particles to enter the body and cause adverse health effects. If nanoparticles can deposit in the lung and remain there, have an active surface chemistry and interact with the body, then, there is potential for exposure. It was showed that surface area plays an important role in the toxicity of nanoparticles and this is the metric that best correlates with particle-induced adverse health effects. The potential for adverse health effects seems to be directly proportional to particle surface area. The objective of the study is to identify and validate methods and tools for measuring nanoparticles during production, manipulation and use of nanomaterials.

Molecular screening of 246 Portuguese Aspergillus isolates among different clinical and environmental sources

Clinical and environmental samples from Portugal were screened for the presence of Aspergillus and the distributions of the species complexes were determined in order to understand how their distributions differ based on their source. Fifty-seven Aspergillus isolates from clinical samples were collected from 10 health institutions. Six species complexes were detected by internal transcribed spacer sequencing; Fumigati, Flavi, and Nigri were found most frequently (50.9%, 21.0%, and 15.8%, respectively). β-tubulin and calmodulin sequencing resulted in seven cryptic species (A. awamorii, A. brasiliensis, A. fructus, A. lentulus, A. sydowii, A. tubingensis, Emericella echinulata) being identified among the 57 isolates. Thirty-nine isolates of Aspergillus were recovered from beach sand and poultry farms, 31 from swine farms, and 80 from hospital environments, for a total 189 isolates. Eleven species complexes were found in these 189 isolates, and those belonging to the Versicolores species complex were found most frequently (23.8%). There was a significant association between the different environmental sources and distribution of the species complexes; the hospital environment had greater variability of species complexes than other environmental locations. A high prevalence of cryptic species within the Circumdati complex was detected in several environments; from the isolates analyzed, at least four cryptic species were identified, most of them growing at 37ºC. Because Aspergillus species complexes have different susceptibilities to antifungals, knowing the species-complex epidemiology for each setting, as well as the identification of cryptic species among the collected clinical isolates, is important. This may allow preventive and corrective measures to be taken, which may result in decreased exposure to those organisms and a better prognosis.

Anomaly-free U(1) gauge symmetries in neutrino seesaw flavor models

Agência Financiadora: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PEst-OE/FIS/UI0777/2013; CERN/FP/123580/2011; PTDC/FIS-NUC/0548/2012

Blistering of W-Ta composites at different irradiation energies

Pure tungsten and tantalum plates and tungsten-tantalum composites produced via mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering were bombarded with He+ and D+ energetic ion beams and deuterium plasmas. The aim of this experiment is to study the effects caused by individual helium and deuterium exposures and to evidence that the modifications induced in the composites at different irradiation energies could be followed by irradiating the pristine constituent elements under the same experimental conditions, which is relevant considering the development of tailored composites for fusion applications. Higher D retentions, especially in tungsten, and superficial blistering are observed in both components after helium exposure. The blistering is magnified in the tantalum phase of composites due to its higher ductility and to water vapour production under deuterium irradiation. At lower irradiation energies the induced effects are minor. After plasma exposure, the presence of tantalum does not increase the D content in the composites. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contribution of different vegetable types to exogenous nitrate and nitrite exposure

This study reports the levels of nitrate and nitrite of 34 vegetable samples, including different varieties of cabbage, lettuce, spinaches, parsley and turnips, collected in several locations of an intensive agricultural area (Modivas, Vila do Conde, northern Portugal). Nitrate levels ranged between 54 and 2440 mg NO-3 kg-1, while nitrite levels ranged between 1.1 and 57 mg NO-2 kg-1. The maximum residue levels established for nitrate in spinach and lettuce samples were not exceeded. Nitrate and nitrite levels reported in the literature for the same type of samples are reviewed, as well as the contribution of vegetables to nitrate and nitrite dietary exposure of populations.

Estimation of pollutant partition in sandy soils with different water contents

The objectives of this work were: (1) to identify an isotherm model to relate the contaminant contents in the gas phase with those in the solid and non-aqueous liquid phases; (2) to develop a methodology for the estimation of the contaminant distribution in the different phases of the soil; and (3) to evaluate the influence of soil water content on the contaminant distribution in soil. For sandy soils with negligible contents of clay and natural organic matter, contaminated with benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, trichloroethylene (TCE), and perchloroethylene (PCE), it was concluded that: (1) Freundlich’s model showed to be adequate to relate the contaminant contents in the gas phase with those in the solid and non-aqueous liquid phases; (2) the distribution of the contaminants in the different phases present in the soil could be estimated with differences lower than 10% for 83% of the cases; and (3) an increase of the soil water content led to a decrease of the amount of contaminant in the solid and non-aqueous liquid phases, increasing the amount in the other phases.