Characterization of scrubber water discharges from ships using comprehensive suspect screening strategies based on GC-APCI-HRMS.

An extended suspect screening approach for the comprehensive chemical characterization of scrubber discharge waters from exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCSs), used to reduce atmospheric shipping emissions of sulphur oxides, was developed. The suspect screening was based on gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and focused on the identification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their alkylated derivatives (alkyl-PAHs), which are among the most frequent and potentially toxic organic contaminants detected in these matrices. Although alkyl-PAHs can be even more abundant than parent compounds, information regarding their occurrence in scrubber waters is scarce. For compound identification, an in-house compound database was built, with 26 suspect groups, including 25 parent PAHs and 23 alkyl-PAH homologues. With this approach, 7 PAHs and 12 clusters of alkyl-PAHs were tentatively identified, whose occurrence was finally confirmed by target analysis using GC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). Finally, a retrospective analysis was performed to identify other relevant (poly)cyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) of potential concern in scrubber waters. According to it, 18 suspect groups were tentatively identified, including biphenyls, dibenzofurans, dibenzothiophenes and oxygenated PAHs derivatives. All these compounds could be used as relevant markers of scrubber water contamination in heavy traffic marine areas and be considered as potential stressors when evaluating scrubber water toxicity.

Determination of organic microcontaminants in agricultural soils irrigated with reclaimed wastewater: Target and suspect approaches.

Water scarcity is a problem worldwide, affecting specially countries with desert/semi-desert areas and low/irregular rainfall. In this context, reuse of reclaimed wastewater (RWW) for agricultural irrigation is undoubtedly a key strategy to reduce fresh water consumption. It is well-known that current wastewater treatments do not effectively remove organic microcontaminants (OMCs), and research in water analysis of OMCs is extensive. However, the focus on agricultural soils irrigated with RWW as potential recipients of OMCs and potential sources of OMCs to crops is still in their beginnings. This study aims to apply a target and a suspect approach for the multi-residue monitoring of OMCs in agricultural soils and a soilless subtract, both irrigated with RWW for more than ten years. The study involved, firstly, the development and validation of an extraction method for target analysis of 73 OMCs using a QuEChERS-based method and liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-QqLIT-MS/MS); and secondly, the application of a suspect workflow for the screening of a list of 1300 potential contaminants using LC coupled to quadrupole-time-of-flight MS (LC-QTOF-MS). The results demonstrated the occurrence of 11 OMCs in the agricultural soil samples and 26 in the soilless subtract (0.1-100 ng g-1, dry weight, d.w.). The suspect analysis leaded to the confirmation of 28 OMCs analytes from the list of candidates. The subsequent combination of both strategies (suspect and target) revealed the presence of 11 new OMCs which were not previously reported. Furthermore, this study presents the first application of a OMCs suspect screening to agricultural soils irrigated with RWW for a long period. These results highlight the importance of monitoring soils with RWW-based irrigation and the application of wide-scope approaches for environmental analysis.

Un reto de esperanza: el relato de una mujer con cáncer vesical / No disponible

El cáncer vesical se sitúa el noveno en el ránking entre todos los tipos de cáncer a nivel mundial y su tasa de incidencia mundial es de 10,1por 100.000 habitantes. En los países occidentales, el hábito tabáquico se relaciona con el 50% de los casos en hombres y el 35% en mujeres. Las enfermeras tienden a trabajar bajo condiciones de trabajo especialmente estresantes y se centran en la parte técnica del cuidado, infravalorándose a veces la visión del paciente sobre sus sentimientos y afrontamiento ante la enfermedad. Con este estudio pretendemos explorar y reflejar los sentimientos, experiencia y opinión de una mujer con padecimiento de cáncer vesical. Material y métodos Se trata de un estudio de investigación descriptivo de enfoque fenomenológico que intenta explorar los sentimientos, experiencia y opinión de una mujer con cáncer vesical. A través de una paciente, que voluntariamente se ofreció para este estudio, se obtuvieron una serie de datos cualitativos por medio de una entrevista que previamente había sido concertada. A continuación se transcribió la entrevista literalmente y fue analizada detalladamente, prestando atención a los temas emergentes según el orden lógico que la metodología cualitativa establece. Se optó por este método porque se considera que aspectos del cuidado de Enfermería como la perspectiva holística de la reacción humana al enfermar son mejor abordados desde este paradigma de investigación, que resalta la visión subjetiva frente al positivismo del ángulo cuantitativo. Discusión/resultados Encontramos cinco ejes fundamentales en la entrevista a nuestra paciente: VIDA, FAMILIA, ENFERMEDAD, LUCHA y PERSONAL SANITARIO. En torno a ellos, la paciente planteó una serie de visiones relativas a sus preocupaciones, miedos, sentimientos de pérdida, cambio de valores y percepciones profundas experimentadas. Es de destacar el (..) (AU)

Bladder cancer ranks ninth among all kinds of cancer worldwide and its age standardized incidence rate (ASR) in the world is 10.1 per100,000. In Western countries, the smoking habit accounts for 50% of the cases in men and 35% in women. We nurses tend to workunder important stressful work burdens and focus in the technical part of care, under estimating sometimes the patient´s vision of his/herdealing with disease and his/her feelings. Material and methods This is a qualitative descriptive research based on a phenomenological bias which tries to explore the feelings, experience and opinion of a woman suffering from bladder cancer. Through a volunteer woman patient regularly attending our ambulatory unit of urological cares, we obtained the qualitative data by means of an interview previously appointed. Next we transcribed the interview literally and analys edit carefully, drawing emerging issues from it in a logical order according to the Qualitative Methodology. We opted for this method because we consider that Nursing care aspects such as holistic perspective of the human being reacting against illness are better dealt with from this kind or research, which enhances the subjective vision above the positivist one Discussion/results(..) (AU)

Gallibacterium anatis-secreted metalloproteases degrade chicken IgG.

Gallibacterium anatis (previously named Pasteurella haemolytica-like) is considered a normal inhabitant of genital and upper respiratory tracts of healthy chickens, but it is also associated with different pathological conditions. Secreted metalloproteases from field and reference G. anatis cultures were obtained by methanol precipitation and were characterized. Proteins of molecular mass higher than 100 kDa showing proteolytic activity were observed in 10% polyacrylamide gels copolymerized with 1% bovine casein. They were active at alkaline pH, and inhibited by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. Their activity was stable at 50 degrees C, but partially inhibited at 60 degrees C, and totally inhibited at higher temperatures. Secreted proteins were able to degrade chicken IgG after 24 h of incubation, and cross-reacted with a polyclonal antibody against purified protease from Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Secreted metalloproteases could play a role in infections caused by G. anatis.

A one year survey of airborne pollen and spores in the neotropical city of Bogota (Colombia).

A one-year study of potentially allergenic airborne biological particles was carried out in Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. Bogotá is a populous city of approximately 6 million inhabitants. Located at 4 degrees Lat N and 2,600 m on the sea level, it has a mild tropical climate. The mean annual temperature of the city is 14 degrees C, the annual rainfall 1,013 mm and the relative humidity 72%. During the year June '86-May '87 the pollen count was 7,626 contributed by 72 grain types. Among these, 24 taxa have been identified. The majority of the grains came from imported trees; Cupressus spp was the main contributor. Weed pollen counts, which include the Compositae (ragweed), were notoriously low (4% of the total). The spore count was 13,264, almost twice as large as that of pollen. Fourty-four spore taxa were identified out of 72 types recorded. More than two-thirds (72%) of the spore count was contributed by the deuteromycetes. Cladosporium was the more frequently recorded genus, Penicillium/Aspergillus second next. Miscellaneous particles recorded were 609 Algae and 142 fern spores. Because of its location in the tropics, Bogotá has neither true seasons nor the large variations in atmospheric particle counting which are typical of temperate zones. However, distinct periodical increments in the counts of various species (peaks) may be the cause of seasonal allergic symptoms.