Rare earth elements (REEs) have been intentionally used in Chinese agriculture since the 1980s to improve crop yields. Around the world, REEs are also involuntarily applied to soils through phosphate fertilizers. These elements are known to alleviate damage in plants under abiotic stresses, yet there is no information on how these elements act in the physiology of plants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl
January 2019
Glass-ceramics based on the LiO-SiO system have been extensively used as restorative dental materials due to their excellent chemical durability, aesthetics, inertness in the buccal environment, and high fracture strength; but they are not bioactive. On the other hand, all known bioactive glasses show ability to bond to bone, teeth and cartilage coupled to osteoconduction and osteoinduction, but their fracture strength and toughness are rather low. The aim of this study is to develop and evaluate the in vitro biocompatibility of a new type of (bioactive and strong) lithia-silica glass-ceramic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTropical marine environments are rich in biodiversity and the presence of harbor activities in these areas can harm the coastal ecosystems. In this study, we assessed sediment quality of two harbors from a tropical region in Brazil by applying multiple lines-of-evidence approach. This approach included the integration of results on: (1) grain size, organic matter, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, trace metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, linear alkylbenzenes, and tributyltin; (2) acute toxicity of whole sediments and chronic toxicity of liquid phases; and (3) benthic community descriptors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci
October 2016
Phospholipase A2 (Pla2) is required for memory retrieval, and its inhibition in the hippocampus has been reported to impair memory acquisition in rats. Moreover, cognitive decline and memory deficits showed to be reduced in animal models after lithium treatment, prompting us to evaluate possible links between Pla2, lithium and memory. Here, we evaluated the possible modulation of Pla2 activity by a long-term treatment of rats with low doses of lithium and its impact in memory.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe blue crab Callinectes danae is distributed throughout the Atlantic coast and this study aimed to evaluate a environmental forensics approach that could be applied at tropical estuarine systems where this species is distributed, based on the metal concentrations in its tissues. For this purpose, blue crab samples were collected in 9 sites (distributed in 3 areas) along the Santos Estuarine System, state of São Paulo, Brazil. The concentrations of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were determined in gills, hepatopancreas and muscle tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShooting with lead-containing ammunition in indoor firing ranges is a known source of lead exposure in adults. Police officers may be at risk of lead intoxication when regular training shooting exercises are yearly mandatory to law enforcement officers. Effects on health must be documented, even when low-level elemental (inorganic) lead exposure is detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study determined the concentrations of eleven metals in the blue crab, Callinectes danae, from nine sites in the Santos Estuarine System of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The results were compared to guidelines established in the United States, Europe and Brazil for the safety of human consumers. Muscles of blue crabs were removed by dissection and concentrations of Al, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn Ni, Pb and Zn were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRadiat Environ Biophys
August 2012
Information on (10)B distribution in normal tissues is crucial to any further development of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). The goal of this study was to investigate the in vitro and in vivo boron biodistribution in B16F10 murine melanoma and normal tissues as a model for human melanoma treatment by a simple and rapid colorimetric method, which was validated by HR-ICP-MS. The B16F10 melanoma cell line showed higher melanin content than human melanocytes, demonstrating a greater potential for boronophenylalanine uptake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe concentrations of metals in tissues of Callinectes danae were evaluated, aiming to determine the bioaccumulation process of this species. Gills presented the highest mean concentrations for most metals, except for Hg (
During criminal investigations involving firearms, the detection of gunshot residues (GSRs) is one of the most important evidences. In the present study, a new method to identify trace evidences of GSRs, deposited around the bullet entrance hole, in different types of fabrics used as targets, is described. The experiments were carried out using a 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present study aimed determines lead (Pb), antimony (Sb) and barium (Ba) as the major elements present in GSR in the environmental air of the Ballistics Laboratory of the São Paulo Criminalistics Institute (I.C.-S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe most popular handgun in Brazil is the single round-barrel caliber 0.38 revolver. In recent years, however, owing to the modernization of police arms and their availability on the legal and illicit markets, pistols have become increasingly popular and currently represent about 20% of police seizures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 960 nm diode laser and acidulated phosphate fluoride on calcium solubility of human dental enamel.
Background Data: Interest in diode lasers has grown steadily since its invention due to its inherent advantages and its range of applications. Several other laser types have shown good results in caries prevention; however, there are few studies on dental tissue interactions using diode lasers.
The drug trafficking is one of the most serious problems related to the Public Safety in Brazil, especially in the most populous areas of the country, as is the case of the city of São Paulo. In this work, it was developed a methodology that can help tracking the traffic routes of marijuana samples seized in the city of São Paulo, based on stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, which are related to the climate and plant growth conditions. A model to classify the origin of unknown samples was built using linear discriminant analysis based on about 150 samples apprehended in the main producing regions of the country.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMercury is a major public health concern because of its widespread occurrence in the environment and its toxic effects on humans, mainly through fish ingestion. On the other hand, selenium is known by its antioxidant effect. For this reason, the knowledge of the correlation between mercury and selenium concentrations in fish samples can bring important information allowing a better understanding of mercury equilibrium in the inhabitants of the Amazon region.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis work presents a novel collection method for gunshot residues (GSR) using a sampling procedure based on ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution as a complexing agent on moistened swabs. Detection was via a sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HRICP-MS). The proposed collection and analytical method allowed detection of antimony (Sb), barium (Ba) and lead (Pb) after .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTotal mercury and selenium concentrations were determined in hair samples collected from Wari (Pacaás Novos) Indians living in Doutor Tanajura village, Gujará-Mirim city, Rondĵnia State. The mercury concentrations in some samples are much higher than the values determined in samples from individuals not exposed to mercury contamination, occupationally or environmentally. The selenium concentrations are in the normal range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF