Education and training: Key solution to self-management and economic sustainability of waste pickers organisations.

Being a waste picker is not considered a profession in the eyes of society. One reason is that it does not require professional qualifications or training. Thus, most waste pickers are individuals who had difficulty entering the labour market, mainly due to low education levels. As members of waste pickers organisations (WPOs), they have difficulties in practicing self-management and, consequently, in maintaining the WPO's economic sustainability. This is a barrier to waste pickers' inclusion in the integrated solid waste management, but it can be overcome with investment in their education and professional training. However, it is not clear how this can be accomplished. This article presents guidelines for the education and training of organised waste pickers. These guidelines were developed based on socioeconomic information with a focus on education and training collected from interviews with waste pickers (n = 215) of 24 Brazilian WPOs. The potentials and vulnerabilities of this socioeconomic profile allowed the elaboration of the main following guidelines: the classroom must be the WPO itself; a mentor is needed to conduct the education and training programme using a non-formal teaching and learning method; the content should be defined collectively, based on the knowledge of the organisation's members and the daily WPO's issues. In addition to isolated actions, these guidelines should be included in public policy programmes.

Pollution threat to water and soil quality by dumpsites and non-sanitary landfills in Brazil: A review.

This work presents an overview of environmental studies performed in areas affected by dumpsites and non-sanitary landfills in Brazil, focusing on physicochemical analysis of surface water, groundwater, and soils, as well as geophysical surveys. The objective was to identify the main contaminants found in these areas and to assess their environmental impact, guiding possible intervention measures, indicating the priority areas, and showing whether post-closure activities are mandatory. The results should support governmental actions, especially considering the recent approval of Brazil's new sanitation framework. The present review assessed 162 publications, which described 104 different municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal sites. The physicochemical parameters of analyzed surface water, groundwater, and soil samples were above Brazilian legislation levels in 74%, 70%, and 24% of the studies, respectively. The parameters more frequently above permissible levels were coliforms, biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, and phosphorus for surface water; lead, coliforms, and iron for groundwater; copper, cadmium, lead, and zinc for soil. The results indicated that Brazilian dumpsites are causing negative impacts in surrounding soils and water resources, posing ecological and public health risks that persist even after the site's closure. Considering that this study provides only a reduced scenario, the dimension of this environmental problem in Brazil is noteworthy. Therefore, it is suggested that not only inadequate disposal is prohibited, but also efficient enforcement methods are adopted and aftercare is appropriately regulated in the country, making it obligatory to establish monitoring plans and implement mitigation techniques to avoid abandoning potentially contaminated areas.

Creation and implantation of acellular rat renal ECM-based scaffolds.

Kidney transplantation is the only potentially curative treatment for patient facing end-stage renal disease, and it is now routinely used. Its use is mainly limited by the supply of transplantable donor organs, which far exceeds the demand. Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering offer promising means for overcoming this shortage. In the present study, we developed and validated a protocol for producing acellular rat renal scaffolds. Left kidneys were removed from 26 male Lewis rats (weights: 250-350 g) and decellularized by means of aortic anterograde perfusion with ionic and anionic detergents (Triton X-100 1% and SDS 1%, respectively). 19 scaffolds thus obtained (and contralateral native kidneys as controls) were deeply characterized in order to evaluate the decellularization quality, the preservation of extracellular matrix components and resultant micro-angioarchitecture structure. The other 7 were transplanted into 7 recipient rats that had undergone unilateral nephrectomy. Recipients were sacrificed on post-transplantation day 7 and the scaffolds subjected to histologic studies. The dual-detergent protocol showed, with only 5 h of perfusion per organ, to obtain thoroughly decellularized renal scaffolds consisting almost exclusively of extracellular matrix. Finally the macro- and the microarchitecture of the renal parenchyma were well preserved, and the grafts were implanted with ease. Seven days after transplant, the scaffolds were morphologically intact although all vascular structures were obstructed with thrombi. Production and implantation of acellular rat renal scaffolds is a suitable platform for further studies on regenerative medicine and tissue engineering.

Combined use of intraoperative ultrasound and indocyanine green fluorescence imaging to detect liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVES: Surgical excision is the standard strategy for managing liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma. The achievement of negative (R0) margins is a major determinant of disease-free survival in these patients. Current imaging techniques are of limited value in achieving this goal. A new approach to the intraoperative detection of colorectal liver metastatic tissue based on the emission of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence was evaluated. METHODS: A total of 25 consecutive patients with liver metastases from primary colorectal cancers who were eligible for liver resection received a bolus of ICG (0.5 mg/kg body weight) 24 h before surgery. During surgery, ICG fluorescence, which accumulates around lesions as a result of defective biliary clearance, was detected with a near-infrared camera system, the Photodynamic Eye (PDE). Numbers of lesions detected by, respectively, PDE + ICG, intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) and preoperative computed tomography (CT) were recorded. RESULTS: The near-infrared camera plus ICG revealed a total of 77 metastatic liver nodules. Preoperative CT demonstrated 45 (58.4%) and IOUS showed 55 (71.4%). Preoperative CT and IOUS alone were inferior to the combined use of PDE + ICG and IOUS in the detection of lesions of ≤ 3 mm in size. CONCLUSIONS: This experience suggests that PDE + ICG, combined with IOUS, may represent a safe and effective tool for ensuring the complete surgical eradication of liver metastases from colorectal cancer.

Role of adiponectin and leptin on body development in infants during the first year of life.

BACKGROUND: The control of growth and nutritional status in the foetus and neonate is a complex mechanism, in which also hormones produced by adipose tissue, such as adiponectin and leptin are involved. The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of adiponectin, leptin and insulin in appropriate (AGA) and small for gestational age (SGA) children during the 1st year of life and to correlate these with auxological parameters. METHODS: In 33 AGA and 29 SGA infants, weight, length, head circumference, glucose, insulin, adiponectin and leptin levels were evaluated at the second day of life, and at one, six and twelve months, during which a portion of SGA could show catch-up growth (rapid growth in infants born small for their gestational age). RESULTS: Both total and isoform adiponectin levels were comparable between AGA and SGA infants at birth and until age one year. These levels significantly increased from birth to the first month of life and then decreased to lower values at 1 year of age in all subjects. Circulating leptin concentrations were higher in AGA (2.1 +/- 4.1 ng/ml) than in SGA neonates (0.88 +/- 1.03 ng/ml, p < 0.05) at birth, then similar at the 1st and the 6th month of age, but they increased in SGA from six months to one year, when they showed catch-up growth. Circulating insulin levels were not statistically different in AGA and SGA neonates at any study time point. Insulin levels in both AGA and SGA infants increased over the study period, and were significantly lower at birth compared to one, six and 12 months of age. CONCLUSIONS: During the first year of life, in both AGA and SGA infants a progressive decrease in adiponectin levels was observed, while a difference in leptin values was correlated with the nutritional status.

Effects of urea on the microstructure and phase behavior of aqueous solutions of polyoxyethylene surfactants.

Membrane proteins are made soluble in aqueous buffers by the addition of various surfactants (detergents) to form so-called protein-detergent complexes (PDCs). Properties of membrane proteins are commonly assessed by unfolding the protein in the presence of surfactant in a buffer solution by adding urea. The stability of the protein under these conditions is then monitored by biophysical methods such as fluorescence or circular dichroism spectroscopy. Often overlooked in these experiments is the effect of urea on the phase behavior and micellar microstructure of the different surfactants used to form the PDCs. Here the effect of urea on five polyoxyethylene surfactants - n-octylytetraoxyethylene (C(8)E(4)), n-octylpentaoxyethylene (C(8)E(5)), n-decylhexaoxyethylene (C(10)E(6)), n-dodecylhexaoxyethylene (C(12)E(6)) and n-dodecyloctaoxylethylene (C(12)E(8)) - is explored. The presence of urea increases the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of all surfactants studied, indicating that the concentration of both the surfactant and urea should be considered in membrane protein folding studies. The cloud point temperature of all surfactants studied also increases with increasing urea concentration. Small-angle neutron scattering shows a urea-induced transition from an elongated to a globular shape for micelles of C(8)E(4) and C(12)E(6). In contrast, C(8)E(5) and C(12)E(8) form more globular micelles at room temperature and the micelles remain globular as the urea concentration is increased. The effects of increasing urea concentration on micelle structure are analogous to those of decreasing the temperature. The large changes in micelle structure observed here could also affect membrane protein unfolding studies by changing the structure of the PDC.