Occurrence, distribution and dynamics of perchlorate in soil, water, fertilizers, vegetables and fruits and associated human exposure in Chile.

Perchlorate (ClO4-) has been identified as a persistent environmental contaminant of concern. Perchlorate exposure is a potential health concern because it interferes with hormone production by thyroid gland. Food (fruits and vegetables) and drinking water are an important source of human exposure to perchlorate. However, little is known about the occurrence of perchlorate in Chile. The purpose of this study was to determine the occurrence of perchlorate in 145 samples (soil, drinking water, surface water, groundwater, fertilizers, fruits and vegetables) collected across Chile and estimate associated exposure to consumers. Our results show that perchlorate was detected in soil (median: 22.2 ng g-1), drinking water (median: 3.0 ng mL-1), fruits (median: 0.91 ng g-1 fresh weight [FW]), lettuce (median: 5.0 ng g-1 FW) and chard (median: 4.15 ng g-1 FW). Interestingly, perchlorate concentrations detected in drinking water from three regions (Serena, Copiapo and Illapel) exceeded the USEPA interim drinking water health advisory level of 15 ng mL-1. Median concentrations of perchlorate in non-nitrogenous fertilizers (3.1 mg kg-1) were higher than those in nitrogenous fertilizers (1.3 mg kg-1). Estimated daily intake (EDI) of perchlorate via drinking water was lower than the USEPA's reference dose (7000 ng kg-1 bw day-1). The EDI of perchlorate via vegetables (chard and lettuce) produced in northern Chile was three times higher than those produced in other regions. The results of this study provide information about perchlorate sources in Chile, which will be helpful in modifying current regulations.

Sources and fates of perchlorate in soils in Chile: A case study of perchlorate dynamics in soil-crop systems using lettuce (Lactuca sativa) fields.

Perchlorate occurs naturally in the environment in deposits of nitrate and can be formed in the atmosphere and precipitate into soil. However, little is known about the occurrence and levels of perchlorate in soils and fertilizers in Chile and its impacts on agricultural systems and food safety. In this study, concentrations of perchlorate were determined in 101 surface soils and 17 fertilizers [nitrogenous (n = 8), nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium (NPK; n = 3), phosphate (n = 2) and non-nitrogenous (n = 4)] collected across Chile from 2017 to 2018. Our results show that perchlorate was detected mainly in agricultural soils (mean: 0.32 ng g-1), grassland rotation sites (0.41 ngg-1) and urban locations (0.38 ng g-1). Interestingly, elevated concentrations of perchlorate (9.66 and 54.0 ng g-1) were found in agricultural soils. All fertilizers contained perchlorate: nitrogenous fertilizers (mean: 32.6 mg kg-1), NPK (mean: 12.6 mg kg-1), non-nitrogenous fertilizers (mean: 10.2 mg kg-1) and phosphates (mean: 11.5 mg kg-1). Only one type of nitrogenous fertilizer (KNO3: 95.3 mg kg-1) exceeded the international regulation limit (50 mg kg-1). For two agronomic practices, the content of perchlorate in lettuce increased as the fertilizer application rate increased, with fertigation promoting a more significant accumulation. However, the concentrations generally remained below regulatory values. Our results suggest that fertilizers constitute an important source of perchlorate in soils.

Field study on the uptake, accumulation and risk assessment of perchlorate in a soil-chard/spinach system: Impact of agronomic practices and fertilization.

The application of excessive fertilizer represents a primary source of entry for perchlorate into crop systems and thus has raised widespread concern regarding food safety. Several studies have reported the occurrence of perchlorate in vegetables. However, limited information is available on the fate of perchlorate in the soil-plant system. In this study, we performed field experiments to evaluate the effects of the application rate of Chilean nitrate fertilizer and the type of fertilization (manual or fertigation) on the uptake of perchlorate by plants grown in open fields. Interestingly, in the control, chard and spinach accumulated 21.3 and 25.9 µg kg-1, respectively. For both agronomic practices, the content of perchlorate in chard and spinach increased as the fertilizer application rate increased, with fertigation promoting more significant accumulations. Spinach accumulated almost two times more perchlorate than chard for all treatments; however, the concentrations generally remained below regulatory values. The intake of spinach and chard presented a low risk to human health for all age groups. These findings enhance our understanding of the environmental impact of the use of fertilizers in agriculture and food safety.

Automatic Staging of Cancer Tumors Using AIM Image Annotations and Ontologies.

A second opinion about cancer stage is crucial when clinicians assess patient treatment progress. Staging is a process that takes into account description, location, characteristics, and possible metastasis of tumors in a patient. It should follow standards, such as the TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors. However, in clinical practice, the implementation of this process can be tedious and error prone. In order to alleviate these problems, we intend to assist radiologists by providing a second opinion in the evaluation of cancer stage. For doing this, we developed a TNM classifier based on semantic annotations, made by radiologists, using the ePAD tool. It transforms the annotations (stored using the AIM format), using axioms and rules, into AIM4-O ontology instances. From then, it automatically calculates the liver TNM cancer stage. The AIM4-O ontology was developed, as part of this work, to represent annotations in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). A dataset of 51 liver radiology reports with staging data, from NCI's Genomic Data Commons (GDC), were used to evaluate our classifier. When compared with the stages attributed by physicians, the classifier stages had a precision of 85.7% and recall of 81.0%. In addition, 3 radiologists from 2 different institutions manually reviewed a random sample of 4 of the 51 records and agreed with the tool staging. AIM4-O was also evaluated with good results. Our classifier can be integrated into AIM aware imaging tools, such as ePAD, to offer a second opinion about staging as part of the cancer treatment workflow.

Lycopene-rich tomato oleoresin modulates plasma adiponectin concentration and mRNA levels of adiponectin, SIRT1, and FoxO1 in adipose tissue of obese rats.

AIM: To investigate whether lycopene can modulate adiponectin levels and SIRT1 and FoxO1 gene expression in the adipose tissue of diet-induced obese rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were first fed with hypercaloric diet (HD, n = 12) for 6 weeks, and afterward, these rats were randomly assigned to receive HD (n = 6) or HD with lycopene-rich tomato oleoresin (equivalent to lycopene 10 mg/kg body weight (BW)/day, HD + L, n = 6) by gavage for additional 6 weeks. Plasma lycopene and adiponectin levels were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and immunoassay, respectively. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of adiponectin, Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), Forkhead box O 1 (FoxO1), fatty acid translocase/cluster of differentiation 36 (FAT/CD36), and PPARγ in adipose tissues were determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Lycopene was detected in the plasma of rats in HD + L group but not in the HD group. Although both BW and adiposity were not different between the two groups, there was a significant increase in both plasma concentration and mRNA expression of adiponectin in the adipose tissue of the HD + L group. In addition, the lycopene supplementation upregulated mRNA expressions of SIRT1, FoxO1, and FAT/CD36 but downregulated PPARγ in adipose tissue of obese rats. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that lycopene, in the concentration used, is not toxic and also its health benefits in adipose tissue may play a role against obesity-related complications.

Role of the central opioid system in the inhibition of water and salt intake induced by central administration of IL-1beta in rats.

In the present study we investigated, the effect of third ventricle injections of IL-1beta on water and salt intake in fluid-deprived and sodium-depleted rats. Central administration of IL-1beta significantly reduced water and salt intake in fluid-deprived animals and decreased salt intake in sodium-depleted rats. The antidipsogenic and antinatriorexic effects elicited by the central administration of IL-1beta were suppressed by pretreatment with central injections of the non-selective opioid antagonist naloxone (10 mug) in the two different experimental protocols used here (water deprivation and sodium depletion). In addition, central administration of IL-1beta failed to modify the intake of a 0.1% saccharin solution when the animals were submitted to a "dessert test" or to induce any significant locomotor deficit in the open-field test. The present results suggest that the activation of the central interleukinergic component by IL-1beta impairs the increase in water and salt intake induced by water deprivation and the enhancement in sodium appetite that follows sodium depletion. The data also support the conclusion that the antidipsogenic and antinatriorexic effects resulting from the activation of the central interleukinergic component rely on an opioid-dependent, naloxone-blockable system.

Inhibition of water intake by the central administration of IL-1beta in rats: role of the central opioid system.

In the present study we investigated, the effect of third ventricle injections of IL-1beta on water intake, in rats, induced by three different physiological stimuli: dehydration induced by water deprivation, hypernatremia associated with hyperosmolarity induced by intragastric salt load, and hypovolemia produced by subcutaneous polytethyleneglycol administration. Central administration of IL-1beta at the doses of 4 and 8 ng reduced water intake in all three conditions studied. Third ventricle injections of IL-1beta (8 ng) were unable to diminish water intake in the groups of rats pretreated with central injections of the non-selective opioid antagonist naloxone (10 microg) in the three different conditions studied. Furthermore, the central administration of IL-1beta was neither able to modify the intake of a 0.1% saccharin solution when the animals were submitted to a "dessert test" nor to induce any significant locomotor deficit in the open-field test. These results suggest that the central activation of interleukin-1 receptors by IL-1beta is able to impair the thirst-inducing mechanisms triggered by the physiological stimuli represented by dehydration, hyperosmolarity and hypovolemia. These results lead us to conclude that the antidipsogenic effects observed following central administration of IL-1beta require the functional integrity of the brain opiatergic system.

Regression of infancy hemangiomas with recombinant IFN-alpha 2b.

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) has antitumor and antiangiogenic effects. The purpose of this work was to evaluate its efficacy and safety in the treatment of infancy hemangioma and to monitor the appearance of anti-IFN antibodies in these patients. Thirty-nine children (29 girls) aged 1.5-158 months, with 19 younger than 1 year and 9 older than 5, were treated with 3 x 10(6) IU/m(2) IFN-alpha 2b, subcutaneously (s.c.) daily. Inclusion criteria were life-threatening or life-limiting hemangioma and parents' informed consent. Regression was considered if tumor size diminished by 50% or more. Of the 38 patients who completed 6 months of treatment, 27 (71.1%) had regression and 11 (28.9%) had stable disease. No patient experienced progression. Regression was more frequent (100%) among patients between 1 and 5 years old, but it was particularly important (68%) among those under 1 year old, when spontaneous regression is rare. The main side effects were the IFN-related flulike syndrome (79%), increase in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (28%), anorexia (19%), and mild inflammation at the injection site (19%). There was no effect on psychomotor or physical development. On the contrary, 1 patient with neurologic symptoms improved remarkably, including seizure disappearance. Eight patients developed anti-IFN-alpha 2 neutralizing antibodies, and 7 of them responded to IFN treatment. IFN-alpha 2b is a safe and efficacious treatment of infancy hemangioma. Further work should look for other treatment schedules and ways of administration and carefully monitor anti-IFN neutralizing antibodies, which does not seem to interfere with response.

[Agreement in the the determination of the basic cause of death among children under one year of age in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]. / Concordância na determinação da causa básica de óbito em menores de um ano na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, 1986.

An evaluation was undertaken, during the assessment of the quality of the filling up of death certificates, with the purpose of evaluating the agreement, in the determination of the basic cause of death, between the physician who certified the death and a medical team which examined the information provided by hospital records. This survey included the analysis of a sample of deaths among children under one year of age which occurred in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in the period from May 1986 to April 1987. As regards neonatal deaths, the greatest concentration of causes of death is perinatal and, despite the changes that have been observed, the composition of the main groups of causes presented no significant alteration. However, within the perinatal group, those generically classified or poorly defined causes were reduced by about 50% and new certificates were made out. Among post-neonatal deaths, we found significant changes, particularly for deaths caused by pneumonia and malnutrition. Given the great interrelation observed among the major causes of death within this group (pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition), it is believed that the investigation of multiple causes of death would provide a more accurate, overall notion of the process that led to death, thus allowing the formulation of a more comprehensive view.

Tumor carcinoide bronquial / Bronchial carcinoid tumor

En relación con la experiencia de seis casos de tumores de tipo carcinoide bronquial, presentados en el XXII Congreso Chileno de Enfermedades Respiratorias, se efectúa una puesta al día sobre estos tumores. Se conceptualizan aspectos nuevos en la nomenclatura, de acuerdo a su histogenia. Se enfatiza el bajo porcentaje de síndromes carcinoides, que se producen como expresión clínica, en estos tumores. Se evalúa la frecuencia, localización y manifestaciones clínicas más frecuentes. Se enfatiza el buen pronóstico de los pacientes tratados con cirugía precoz y se concluye, puntualizando algunos aspectos novedosos en el tratamiento médico, en los pocos casos de pacientes no operables

Tratamento da infeccao urinaria com acido pipemidico - consideracoes sobre 50 casos. / Treatment of urinary infection with pipemidic acid. Considerations on 50 cases

O presente trabalho estudou 50 pacientes, 18 homens e 32 mulheres, portadores de infeccao urinaria, tratados com acido pipemidico em capsulas na dosagem de 400 mg "per os" cada 12 horas por 10 dias conforme normas estabelecidas no protocolo de pesquisa. Como resultado obteve-se um indice de 88% de bons resultados. De acordo com os resultados obtidos, concluiu-se que o acido pipemidico e um dos antibacterianos de largo espectro de primeira escolha no tratamento das infeccoes do trato urinario