Activated sludge prokaryote and eukaryote characterization in a pulp mill facility using amplicon sequencing.

The pulp and paper industry, a major global sector, supports economies and jobs while contributing to various products. While providing valuable products, and despite Best Available Techniques (BAT) being used, managing wastewater effectively remains a key area for developing technologies and alternatives for environmental protection. Activated sludge (AS) systems are commonly used for effluent treatment, where microorganisms composition influences reactor efficiency.

A comprehensive study on bisphenol A and estrogenic activity in the Paraíba do Sul River, São Paulo, Brazil.

In recent decades, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in aquatic environments have garnered significant attention due to their adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Among these CECs, bisphenol A (BPA) is a major concern because of its widespread use and endocrine-disrupting properties. Brazil's urbanization and industrial growth have led to significant pollution challenges, primarily due to inadequate sewage infrastructure and untreated domestic wastewater being discharged into rivers, contributing to the presence of emerging contaminants in surface waters.

The Influence of Initial Immunosuppression on the Kinetics of Humoral Response after SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Patients Undergoing Kidney Transplantation.

The effect of initial immunosuppressive therapy on the kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced humoral response is unknown. Here, we compared the kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-induced humoral response in chronic kidney disease patients undergoing kidney transplantation (KTRs) and compared to patients remaining on dialysis during the Omicron circulation. This prospective, non-randomized, real-world study included 113 KTRs and 108 patients on dialysis.

Emerging contaminant occurrence and toxic effects on zebrafish embryos to assess the adverse effects caused by mixtures of substances in the environment.

The contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) have been receiving global attention due to their worldwide presence in water bodies. The CECs could be originated from synthetic or natural sources, and they are not commonly monitored, although these substances are continuously reaching the aquatic environment. The main goal of this study was to determine the occurrence of some target CECs in São Paulo state surface water, once there is practically no information on the presence and concentration range of these substances at the studied sites.

The Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (BRAMS 5.2): an integrated environmental model tuned for tropical areas.

We present a new version of the Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System where different previous versions for weather, chemistry and carbon cycle were unified in a single integrated software system. The new version also has a new set of state-of-the-art physical parameterizations and greater computational parallel and memory usage efficiency. Together with the description of the main features are examples of the quality of the transport scheme for scalars, radiative fluxes on surface and model simulation of rainfall systems over South America in different spatial resolutions using a scale-aware convective parameterization.

Air Quality and Health Impacts of Future Ethanol Production and Use in São Paulo State, Brazil.

It is often argued that liquid biofuels are cleaner than fossil fuels, and therefore better for human health, however, the evidence on this issue is still unclear. Brazil's high uptake of ethanol and role as a major producer makes it the most appropriate case study to assess the merits of different biofuel policies. Accordingly, we modeled the impact on air quality and health of two future fuel scenarios in São Paulo State: a business-as-usual scenario where ethanol production and use proceeds according to government predictions and a counterfactual scenario where ethanol is frozen at 2010 levels and future transport fuel demand is met with gasoline.

Bundle Approach to Reduce Bloodstream Infections in Neutropenic Hematologic Patients with a Long-Term Central Venous Catheter.

Introduction: The objective of the study was to reduce, by a bundle of interventions, the global bloodstream infections and catheter-related bloodstream infections rates in neutropenic hematology patients with a long-term central venous catheter.

Material And Methods: This was a non-randomized prospective study. It was conducted in a 20-bed hematology oncology unit (Portuguese Institute of Oncology, Porto, Portugal) between 1st of August 2010 and 31st of January 2012.