Publications by authors named "Ailton Moreira"

Antibiotics from the fluoroquinolone class, such as norfloxacin (NOR), are emerging contaminants with significant environmental and human health impacts. Their safe degradation from water remains a global challenge due to their persistence, lack of biodegradability, and ability to induce resistant bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time, this work reports the development of highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of NOR using environmentally friendly microfibrillated cellulose@ZnO (MFC@ZnO) photocatalysts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Omnichannel adoption in healthcare service has recently become widely discussed as healthcare institutions struggle to keep up with changing patient expectations and technological advances. However, the need for a standard model for addressing this issue has left many healthcare institutions working to implement effective strategies. This study aims to establish a comprehensive model to evaluate adopting an omnichannel strategy in healthcare.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Magnetic particle spray mass spectrometry (MPS-MS), an innovative ambient ionization technique proposed by our research group, was employed to determine beta-blockers in human plasma samples. A dispersive solid phase extraction of atenolol, metoprolol, labetalol, propranolol, nadolol, and pindolol was carried out using magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (M-MIP) particles that were attached to the tip of a metal probe, which was placed in the mass spectrometer inlet. A solvent (1% formic acid in methanol) was dispensed on the particles, and the Taylor cone was formed around them (in high voltage).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Persistent molecules, such as pesticides, herbicides, and pharmaceuticals, pose significant threats to both the environment and human health. Advancements in developing efficient photocatalysts for degrading these substances can play a fundamental role in remediating contaminated environments, thereby enhancing safety for all forms of life. This study investigates the enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency achieved by incorporating La into AgPO, using the co-precipitation method in an aqueous medium.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • ZnWO nanoparticles (ZnWO-NPs) are used in various applications like sensors, lasers, and batteries, but their effects on aquatic ecosystems remain unclear.
  • This study is the first to assess the toxicity of ZnWO-NPs on the green microalga Raphidocelis subcapitata, revealing growth inhibition and changes in photosynthesis at specific concentrations.
  • The findings indicate that high levels of ZnWO-NPs can disrupt biochemical processes in microalgae, which could have broader implications for aquatic food chains and ecosystem health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The adoption of omnichannel interaction services in health care can bring significant benefits to both health care institutions and their patients. The ongoing health pandemic caused by coronavirus disease has further emphasized the need for health care providers to implement an omnichannel strategy to provide seamless personalized experiences to their patients through multiple access channels. This study aimed to examine the current state of research on omnichannel interaction services in health care with a focus on the benefits, challenges, and issues that health care institutions may encounter when adopting this strategy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the last decades, the growth of world agricultural activity has significantly contributed to the increased presence of emerging pollutants such as atrazine (ATZ) in aquatic ecosystems. Due to its high stability to the natural or artificial degradation processes, the ATZ environmental remediation by adsorption has been investigated. In this study, a graphitic-porous-carbon- (GPC) based material with magnetic domains was applied to remove ATZ from aqueous solution.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Photocatalysts supported in magnetic nanocomposites for application in environmental remediation processes have been evaluated for removing contaminants due to easy recovery and low toxicity to the ecosystem. In this work, copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles with photocatalytic properties were decorated on magnetic support constituted by hydroxyapatite (HAP) and ferrite to achieve efficiency in contaminated water remediation under visible light irradiation. First, nanomaterials were obtained by precipitation route, allowing fast and straightforward synthesis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this study, a spectrophotometric-chemometric (Spec-Chem) approach was applied as an alternative to chromatography to monitor ATZ and by-products after photolytic and photocatalytic oxidation aiming to unveil the ATZ degradation mechanism. Spec-Chem is an accessible, easy-to-operate, low-cost analytical approach to monitor atrazine (ATZ) and by-products, and its applicability was validated by HPLC, the reference technique for the evaluation of pollutant degradation mechanisms. The chromatographic (DChro) and spectrophotometric (DSpec) data found 95% and 57% ATZ removal after 30 min, respectively, proving that the DSpec erroneously induces a 38% loss in removal efficiency.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Various photocatalytic nanomaterials for environmental remediation have been promoted due to the pollution caused by different organic pollutants. In this study, NbO nanofibers were obtained by electrospinning technique, presenting controlled crystallinity and high specific surface area to improve the photoactivity response. The structural characterization indicated NbO nanofibers with orthorhombic phase formation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance and impact of telemedicine and multichannel interactions in healthcare services provided to patients. Health professionals are in turn increasingly dependent on patient data collected through multichannel interactions to make their clinical decisions. This article intends to present a brief analysis from the viewpoint of health professionals regarding the use of technologies in telemedicine and multichannel interactions to support decision making, basing on the analysis of clinical data of patients collected in a telemedicine environment.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A fast, efficient, and non-chromatographic method was presented in this study for nitrite, nitrate, and p-nitrophenol (N-compounds) extraction and speciation analysis of environmental samples. By applying ultrasound-assisted solid-liquid extraction (USLE), analytes were efficiently extracted from water, soil, or sediment collected in areas of environmental disaster. These analytes were selectively converted to NO through UV photolysis (NO), HO/UV photocatalysis (PNP), and direct conversion (NO).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Nanotechnology has been studied on environmental remediation processes to foster greater photocatalysts efficiency and reuse in wastewater. This study investigated the photocatalytic efficiency and viability of niobium pentoxide (NbO) nanoparticles decorated with magnetic ferrite (cobalt ferrite (CoFeO) or magnesium ferrite (MgFeO)) for atrazine photodegradation. Thus, the decorated NbO was synthesized by the polymeric precursor method, forming nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 25 to 50 nm.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Three different synthesis methods were applied to obtain TiO nanoparticles: microwave-assisted hydrothermal (TiO-MW), sonochemical (TiO-US), and polymeric precursor (TiO-PP). The nanoparticles thus obtained presented 93% (TiO-MW) and 92% (TiO-US) anatase phase, and TiO-PP 93% rutile phase. The TiO-US sample performed best during the Prozac® photodegradation assays because of its lipophilic surface, attributable to the C-H groups therein.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The environmental disasters that occurred due to the leakage of mining waste in Mariana-MG (2015) and Brumadinho-MG (2019), located in Brazil, attracted the attention of the scientific community. This designated efforts to investigate the environmental consequences of toxic waste in the affected ecosystem. Therefore, a simple, easily executed and accessible method was presented for arsenic speciation [As(III), As(V), and DMA].

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This work presents an alternative method for arsenic speciation using the nano-TiO hydride generation photocatalytic hydride generation (PCHG) system, which is easily separated from the medium. Nano-TiO was studied as photocatalyst to reduction of arsenic species by UV-induced with formic acid and atomic absorption detection of different forms of arsenic [As (III), As (V), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)] in environmental samples (water, sediment and plant). The effect of the average pH, the organic acid concentration, the ultraviolet irradiation time and their amount were investigated.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Atrazine is an herbicide widely used in crops and has drawn attention due to potential pollution present in soil, sediment, water, and food. Since conventional methods are not potentially efficient to persistent degradation of organic compounds, new technology has been developed to remove them, especially practices utilizing advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). This work aims to evaluate the use of different energies (ultraviolet (UV), microwaves (MW), and radiations (MW-UV)) to the herbicide atrazine through the process of photo-oxidation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Atrazine is an herbicide widely used in crops and has drawn attention due to potential pollution present in soil, sediment, water, and food. Since conventional methods are not potentially efficient to persistent degradation of organic compounds, new technology has been developed to remove them, especially practices utilizing advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). This work aims to evaluate the use of different energies (ultraviolet (UV), microwaves (MW), and radiations (MW-UV)) to the herbicide atrazine through the process of photo-oxidation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF