Trimethoprim-selective electrodes with molecularly imprinted polymers acting as ionophores and potentiometric transduction on graphite solid-contact

This work proposes a new biomimetic sensor material for trimethoprim. It is prepared by means of radical polymerization, having trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as cross-linker, benzoyl peroxide as radicalar iniciator, chloroform as porogenic solvent, and methacrylic acid and 2-vinyl pyridine as monomers. Different percentages of sensor in a range between 1 and 6% were studied. Their behavior was compared to that obtained with ion-exchanger quaternary ammonium salt (additive tetrakis(p-chlorophenyl)borate or tetraphenylborate). The effect of an anionic additive in the sensing membrane was also tested. Trimethoprim sensors with 1% of imprinted particles from methacrylic acid monomers showed the best response in terms of slope (59.7 mV/decade) and detection limit (4.01 × 10− 7 mol/L). These electrodes displayed also a good selectivity towards nickel, manganese aluminium, ammonium, lead, potassium, sodium, iron, chromium, sulfadiazine, alanine, cysteine, tryptophan, valine and glycine. The sensors were not affected by pH changes from 2 to 6. They were successfully applied to the analysis of water from aquaculture.

The frequency rate of Toxocara species contamination in soil samples from public yards in a urban area "Payathai", Bangkok, Thailand

Toxocara species are most common roundworms of Canidae and Felidae. Human toxocariasis develops by ingesting of embryonated eggs in contaminated soil. There is no previous report of Toxocara contamination in the soil samples from the public areas in Bangkok. For this reason our study have been carried out to examine the frequency of Toxocara eggs in public yards in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 175 sand and clay samples were collected and examined for parasite eggs. According to this study, Toxocara eggs were detected from 10 (5.71%) of 175 soil samples. The high rate of contamination in this study implies the importance of the control of this possible zoonotic disease: control of abandon of dogs and cats, is still necessary.

First record of Desmodus rotundus in urban area from the city of Olinda, Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil: a case report

The objective of this report is to describe the first record of Desmodus rotundus in urban area from the city of Olinda, Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil, and to draw attention to the possible risk of rabies transmission in this place. After the complaint of a dog owner who observed three bats attacking his dog, images registering attacks of D. rotundus were captured with a video camera. From 09:00 p.m. on 13 February 2004 to 04:00 a.m. of the next day, a high frequency of haematophagic activity and the presence of several bites on the dog's body were observed. This finding represents a serious risk to public health. Thus, it is necessary to further study the bat fauna, with special attention to their feeding behaviour in this place, in order to better know their biology and to adopt pertinent control measures. This is, to our knowledge, the first record of D. rotundus in urban area of Olinda.

Characterization of Cryptococcus neoformans isolated from urban environmental sources in Goiânia, Goiás State, Brazil

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes meningoencephalitis as the most frequent clinical presentation in immunocompromised patients, mainly in people infected by HIV. This fungus is an environmental encapsulated yeast, commonly found in soil enriched with avian droppings and plant material. A total of 290 samples of pigeon and the other avian droppings, soil, ornamental trees and vegetable material associated with Eucalyptus trees were collected to study environmental sources of Cryptococcus species in Goiânia, Goiás State. The determination of varieties, serotypes and the susceptibility in vitro to fluconazole, itraconazole and amphotericin B of C. neoformans isolates were performed. C. neoformans var. grubii (serotype A) was found in 20.3% (36/177) of pigeon dropping samples and in 14.3% (5/35) of samples of Eucalyptus. None of the environmental isolates of C. neoformans showed in vitro resistance to three antifungal agents. The knowledge of major route for human cryptococcal infection (inhalation of infectious particles from saprophytic sources) and a total of 60 C. neoformans isolates obtained from AIDS patients with cryptococcal meningitis between October 2001 and April 2002 justify the study of the habitats of these yeasts as probable sources of cryptococcosis in this city.

Assessment of groundwater contamination in an agricultural peri-urban area (NW Portugal): an integrated approach

The excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture has generated a decrease in groundwater and surface water quality in many regions of the EU, constituting a hazard for human health and the environment. Besides, on-site sewage disposal is an important source of groundwater contamination in urban and peri-urban areas. The assessment of groundwater vulnerability to contamination is an important tool to fulfil the demands of EU Directives. The purpose of this study is to assess the groundwater vulnerability to contamination related mainly to agricultural activities in a peri-urban area (Vila do Conde, NW Portugal). The hydrogeological framework is characterised mainly by fissured granitic basement and sedimentary cover. Water samples were collected and analysed for temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, chloride, phosphate, nitrate and nitrite. An evaluation of groundwater vulnerability to contamination was applied (GOD-S, Pesticide DRASTIC-Fm, SINTACS and SI) and the potential nitrate contamination risk was assessed, both on a hydrogeological GIS-based mapping. A principal component analysis was performed to characterised patterns of relationship among groundwater contamination, vulnerability, and the hydrogeological setting assessed. Levels of nitrate above legislation limits were detected in 75 % of the samples analysed. Alluvia units showed the highest nitrate concentrations and also the highest vulnerability and risk. Nitrate contamination is a serious problem affecting groundwater, particularly shallow aquifers, especially due to agriculture activities, livestock and cesspools. GIS-based cartography provided an accurate way to improve knowledge on water circulation models and global functioning of local aquifer systems. Finally, this study highlights the adequacy of an integrated approach, combining hydrogeochemical data, vulnerability assessments and multivariate analysis, to understand groundwater processes in peri-urban areas.

Revalorization of spent coffee residues by a direct agronomic approach

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) represent a high-volume food waste worldwide, and several reuse approaches have been attempted. Herein, a greenhouse field experiment was carried out by cultivating Batavia lettuce with 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30% (v/v) espresso SCG directly composted in the soil. Healthy vegetables were obtained for all treatments, without yield loss for up to 10% SCG. A progressive increment of green color intensity with increasing SCG content was observed, corroborated by the increase of their photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids). Furthermore, total ascorbic acid and tocopherols showed statistical significant increases (p < 0.001) between control and all tested groups. Marked variations of nutritionally relevant minerals, particularly potassium, phosphorous and sodium were also revealed at higher percentage treatments (20% and 30%). This approach constitutes a clean, direct, simple and cost-effective measure to produce value-added vegetables, while reducing food waste disposal.

Children’s Indoor Exposures to (Ultra)Fine Particles in an Urban Area: Comparison Between School and Home Environments

Due to their detrimental effects on human health, scientific interest in ultrafine particles (UFP), has been increasing but available information is far from comprehensive. Children, who represent one of the most susceptible subpopulation, spend the majority of time in schools and homes. Thus, the aim of this study is to (1) assess indoor levels of particle number concentrations (PNC) in ultrafine and fine (20–1000 nm) range at school and home environments and (2) compare indoor respective dose rates for 3- to 5-yr-old children. Indoor particle number concentrations in range of 20–1000 nm were consecutively measured during 56 d at two preschools (S1 and S2) and three homes (H1–H3) situated in Porto, Portugal. At both preschools different indoor microenvironments, such as classrooms and canteens, were evaluated. The results showed that total mean indoor PNC as determined for all indoor microenvironments were significantly higher at S1 than S2. At homes, indoor levels of PNC with means ranging between 1.09 × 104 and 1.24 × 104 particles/cm3 were 10–70% lower than total indoor means of preschools (1.32 × 104 to 1.84 × 104 particles/cm3). Nevertheless, estimated dose rates of particles were 1.3- to 2.1-fold higher at homes than preschools, mainly due to longer period of time spent at home. Daily activity patterns of 3- to 5-yr-old children significantly influenced overall dose rates of particles. Therefore, future studies focusing on health effects of airborne pollutants always need to account for children’s exposures in different microenvironments such as homes, schools, and transportation modes in order to obtain an accurate representation of children overall exposure.

Occurrence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in horses of the urban area of Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

A total of 320 horses were studied in this paper, both male and female, between two and 17 years of age, which were used for traction of wagons in the urban area of the municipality of Londrina (PR). These animals were kept, after their daily work, in abandoned areas or plots, in the outskirts of the urban area of the city. When these animals were attended by the veterinarians, between 1996 and 2005, none of them presented symptoms suggesting leptospirosis. The most frequent reasons for the visit were loss of weight, unwillingness for work, parasitism, laminess, and wounds. Microscopic Seroagglutination Test (SAM), with 22 Leptospira serovars, was performed in sera sample from all these animals. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of antibodies against Leptospira spp. in horses from the urban area of Londrina (PR). From the samples tested, 214 (66.88%) were considered positive, with titers between 100 and 3200, being that 49 (22.90%) presented antibodies against a single serovar of Leptospira, and 165 (77.10%) samples presented antibodies against two or more serovars simultaneously, where in 88 (53.33%) it was possible to characterize the most likely probable serovar. Antibodies against the serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae were detected in 32 (23.36%) animals.

First report of rabies in vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) in an urban area, Ubatuba, São Paulo state, Brazil

The purpose of this report is to record the first case of a hematophagous bat (Desmodus rotundus) infected with rabies virus in an urban area in Brazil. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first such case in Latin America. After discovering a bat in his garden at 10 o'clock in the morning, a resident of Ubatuba municipality asked the Zoonosis Control Center team to visit his home. The animal was caught alive on the same day and sent to the Pasteur Institute laboratory, where it was identified as a Desmodus rotundus specimen. Standard tests for rabies diagnosis were carried out (direct immunofluorescence and viral isolation), and the results were positive. The presence of different species of (primarily insectivorous) bats in urban areas represents a serious public health problem. This case, however, is indicative of a much greater risk because the species in question has hematophagous habits, what means this animals has a low energy reserves and, therefore, its need to feed daily.

Municipal solid waste management system: decision support through systems analysis

Thesis submitted to the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering

Waste collection routing-limited multiple landfills and heterogeneous fleet

This article deals with a real-life waste collection routing problem. To efficiently plan waste collection, large municipalities may be partitioned into convenient sectors and only then can routing problems be solved in each sector. Three diverse situations are described, resulting in three different new models. In the first situation, there is a single point of waste disposal from where the vehicles depart and to where they return. The vehicle fleet comprises three types of collection vehicles. In the second, the garage does not match any of the points of disposal. The vehicle is unique and the points of disposal (landfills or transfer stations) may have limitations in terms of the number of visits per day. In the third situation, disposal points are multiple (they do not coincide with the garage), they are limited in the number of visits, and the fleet is composed of two types of vehicles. Computational results based not only on instances adapted from the literature but also on real cases are presented and analyzed. In particular, the results also show the effectiveness of combining sectorization and routing to solve waste collection problems.

Molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium spp. from HIV infected patients from an urban area of Brazil

Cryptosporidium spp. are important cause of enteric disease in humans, but may also infect animals. This study describes the relative frequency of several Cryptosporidium species found in human specimens from HIV infected patients in the São Paulo municipality obtained from January to July 2007. Sequence analysis of the products of nested-PCR based on small subunit rRNA and Cryptosporidium oocyst wall protein coding genes revealed 17 (63.0%) isolates of C. hominis, four (14.8%) C. parvum, five (18.5%) C. felis and one (3.7%) C. canis. These findings suggest that, in urban environments of Brazil, the cat adapted C. felis may play a potential role in the zoonotic transmission of cryptosporidiosis whereas the anthroponotic transmission of cryptosporidiosis caused by C. hominis seems to predominate.

Serological, clinical and epidemiological evaluation of toxocariasis in urban areas of south Brazil

Toxocariasis is a worldwide public-health problem that poses major risks to children who may accidentally ingest embryonated eggs of Toxocara. The objectives of this study were to investigate the occurrence of anti-Toxocara spp. antibodies in children and adolescents and the variables that may be involved, as well as environmental contamination by Toxocara spp. eggs, in urban recreation areas of north central mesoregion, Paraná State, Brazil. From June 2005 to March 2007. a total of 376 blood samples were collected by the Public Health Service from children and adolescents one to 12 years old, of both genders. Samples were analyzed by the indirect ELISA method for detection of anti-Toxocara antibodies. Serum samples were previously absorbed with Ascaris suum antigens, and considered positive with a reagent reactivity index >1. Soil samples from all of the public squares and schools located in the four evaluated municipalities that had sand surfaces (n = 19) or lawns (n = 15) were analyzed. Of the 376 serum samples, 194 (51.6%) were positive. The seroprevalence rate was substantially higher among children aging one to five years (p = 0.001) and six to eight years (p = 0.022). The clinical signs and symptoms investigated did not show a statistical difference between seropositive and seronegative individuals (p > 0.05). In 76.5% of the investigated recreation places, eggs of Toxocara were detected in at least one of the five collected samples. Recreation areas from public schools were 2.8 times more contaminated than from public squares. It is important to institute educational programs to inform families and educators, as well as to improve sanitary control of animals and cleaning of the areas intended for recreation in order to prevent toxocariasis.

Lutzomyia longipalpis behavior and control at an urban visceral leishmaniasis focus in Argentina

During the earlier stages of visceral leishmaniasis transmission in Posadas City, Misiones, both the night activity and attraction to humans of Lutzomyia longipalpis were assessed, in order to provide preliminary recommendations. The impact of peridomestic deltamethrin spraying performed by local officials was also evaluated. Although Lu. longipalpis were found in traps located over a dog the entire night, 90% of the females were captured from 20.30h to 1.30h, and only landed on a human when he was at a distance of 1.5 m from the dog. Peridomestic spraying of deltamethrin (25 mg/m²) reduced the sand fly capture up to seven days post-intervention without dispersion in the border of the sprayed areas. These results support the recommendations about time-space focus of the protection measures: first half of the night, in the backyard, with pets and domestic animals kept at least 5 m from humans. The deltamethrin as it was used did not seem very effective in this scenario; neither did the eventual use of bed nets, at least in adults, due to the place/hour of sand fly higher activity. This study strengthens the need for a multidisciplinary approach to develop prevention strategies based both on biological and anthropological studies.

Development and implementation of strategies for the incorporation of reinforcing elements in aluminium alloys by solid state processing

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica