Morphological study of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) eggs by X-ray computed microtomography.

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are vectors of several arboviruses responsible for causing dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever viruses and microcephaly, resulting in a public health problem in several countries worldwide. Even in this scenario, studies on the morphology of mosquito eggs are still lacking. In this paper, X-ray microtomography was used to study mosquito egg morphology.

Determining chemical composition of materials through micro-CT images.

X-ray microtomography is a 3D non-destructive method which, through digital images, enables a view of the internal structure of samples. Recently, researchers have been extensively performing various methods in the attempt to determine the chemical composition of materials. This paper brings further insight into this matter and proposes a new experimental method for determining the internal chemical composition of samples.

Relief from Back Pain Through Postural Adjustment: a Controlled Clinical Trial of the Immediate Effects of Muscular Chains Therapy (MCT).

Introduction: Back pain can be one of the most common health problems, causing suffering, disabilities, and financial losses. Postural models for pain treatment state that poor posture alters the joint position and causes pain, such as back pain. Muscular Chain Therapy (MCT) is a technique that is used to treat posture pathologies, among others.

Quantification of metals in river water using a portable EDXRF system.

This work identified, quantified, and presents results for metals in water using a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) system. It was possible to quantify the following range of concentrations in mg L(-1): Ca(0.043-0.

Titanium dioxide determination in sunscreen by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence methodology.

Nowadays there are many sun-protection cosmetics incorporating chemical and/or physical UV filters as active ingredients and there are no official methods to determine these kinds of compounds in sunscreen cosmetics. The objective of this work is to estimate TiO(2) concentration, without sample preparation, employing a portable energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF), aiming to estimate the sun protection factor (SPF) due to the physical barrier in sunscreen composition, and also identify the metals present in the samples. A portable EDXRF system was used for the analysis of fifteen commercial samples.

Factorial design for Fe, Cu, Zn, Se and Pb preconcentration optimization with APDC and analysis with a portable X-ray fluorescence system.

Preconcentration of heavy metals in water with ammonium pyrrolydine dithiocarbamate (APDC) is a common practice in analytical chemistry. A literature review on this topic showed that several authors use this precipitation agent, but in different preconcentration conditions, conducting to divergent results. The objective of this work is to use factorial design to optimize the factors involved in the preconcentration process of heavy metals using APDC.