Five years after the collapse of the Fundão Dam: lessons from temporal monitoring of chemistry and acute toxicity.

In November 2015, the Fundão Dam break released millions of tons of metal-rich tailings into the Doce River Basin (DRB), causing catastrophic damage and potential ecological effects that reached the Atlantic Ocean. This study aimed to evaluate the geochemistry and toxicity of water and sediments collected in the DRB from 2015 to 2019 and to determine the spatial and temporal trends. Water and sediment samples were analyzed for metals and As by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), and acute toxicity for Daphnia similis or D. magna. Results were explored using geochemical indices and correlation analyzes. Overall, higher concentrations of metals and As in water and sediments were observed immediately after dam breakage, but the levels exhibited a decreasing trend over time, although the levels of some elements such as As and Mn remained high in the upper DRB. The geochemical indices indicated mostly low to moderate contamination, and the enrichment factor (EF) demonstrated a higher enrichment of Mn in the upper DRB. Acute toxicity to water fleas (D. similis and D. magna) was occasionally observed in waters and sediments, but the reference samples were toxic, and the short-term effects were not correlated with metals and As. Overall, the results showed limited bioavailability of metals and As and a decreasing trend in their concentrations, indicating an ongoing recovery process in DRB. These results are important to decision-making regarding the disaster and actions for environmental restoration.

Multiple biomarkers in pufferfish as a proxy of environmental health in brazilian marine protected areas.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to conserve biodiversity and vulnerable ecosystems. This study aimed to assess the environmental quality of three Brazilian MPAs, based on the integrated analysis of biomarkers in pufferfish. The MPAs are differentiated by the degree of anthropogenic influences. The Barra do Una Estuary sustainable reserve (JUR) is a reference area due to its low levels of contamination and species diversity. The Cananéia Estuarine System (CAN) has been recognized as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO, as well as a Ramsar wetland. This MPA was influenced by upstream mining activities, resulting in the introduction of metals in the estuarine waters and the discharge of untreated urban sewage. The São Vicente estuary (SSV) lacks proper sanitation infrastructure. All collections were conducted during winter season, and, after collection, the animals were euthanized, their soft tissues were removed, and multiple biomarkers were analyzed in the gills and liver, as biometric, genotoxic, biochemical, and morphological. A one-factor multivariate analysis was applied to evaluate the differences between the data sets, and the matrices were analyzed using PERMANOVA to evaluate the "estuary" factor. The results were integrated using PCA with a 0.4 cut value and an Enhanced Integrated Biomarker Response (EIBR) was calculated. PCA was correlated with biochemical, genotoxic, and morphological biomarkers. In general, SVV differed from CAN and JUR as shown by both univariate and multivariate analyses. SVV also showed the highest EIBR, followed by CAN. Organisms from SSV showed greater gill pathology, elevated AChE activity and lipoperoxidation (LPO), and micronuclei frequency. CAN present intermediate EIBR, with severe pathologies in the liver. CAN seems to present an intermediate environmental quality between SSV and JUR indicating the importance of the existence of MPAs for environmental conservation and the need to monitor such areas, to maintain their suitable environmental quality.

Improvement of Color and Oxidative Stabilities in Nellore Bull Dark Meat in High-Oxygen Package by Lactate and Rosemary Oil Extract.

This study aimed to improve the color and oxidative stabilities of dark Nellore bull steaks with greater-than-normal ultimate pH (pHu) by the injection (8% raw wet weight basis) of a solution with L-lactate (2.5%), phosphate (0.3%) and rosemary extract (0.06%), with further packaging in high oxygen atmosphere (HiOx MAP). Longissimus lumborum muscles from pasture-fed Nellore bulls were divided into three pHu ranges: normal (<5.80), intermediate (5.81-6.19), and high (≥6.2). Muscles were then halved, with sections were randomly assigned to non-enhanced (C, n = 6/pHu range) or injected (E, n = 6/pHu range) groups, at 72 h postmortem. Each section was cut into 2 cm-slices, which were HiOx-packed and then stored for 5 days (dark) and displayed for 9 days (fluorescent lighting) at 2 °C. Higher pHu steaks exhibited greater a*, b*, h*, C* and surface oxymyoglobin and lower surface deoxymyoglobin and oxygen consumption compared to those of normal pHu between days 0 and 5 (p < 0.05). Over the time, normal-pHu muscles showed oxidative protection (lower TBARS and greater metmyoglobin reducing ability values, p < 0.05) in enhanced-steaks. Therefore, enhancement and HiOx MAP seem to produce greater-than-normal pHu Nellore bull steaks with a preferable color and quality, even after display time.

Fusariose em transplante autólogo de medula óssea: relato de caso e considerações associadas / Fusariosis after autologous bone marrow transplantation: case report and associated conditions

Os fungos do gênero Fusarium sp são comumente encontrados no solo e em restos orgânicos. São reconhecidos como causa de infecção localizada envolvendo unhas, pele traumatizada ou a córnea. A infecção disseminada por Fusarium sp é encontrada quase que exclusivamente em imunodeprimidos, em particular em neutropênicos ou em pacientes recebendo quimioterapia ou transplante de medula óssea. Atualmente, Fusarium sp são considerados patógenos emergentes e, em alguns centros, já representam a terceira causa mais comum de micose invasiva, após Candida e Aspergillus. Relatamos o caso de uma paciente de 62 anos, portadora de mieloma múltiplo, que desenvolveu fusariose disseminada em seu segundo transplante autólogo de medula óssea. No vigésimo dia pós-transplante evoluiu com necessidade de suporte intensivo e veio a óbito. Fusariose, em sua forma disseminada, é uma infecção rara, de difícil suspeita diagnóstica e mesmo com o tratamento, na maioria das vezes a evolução é fatal.

Fungi from the Fusarium sp genus, commonly found in the soil and organic residues, are recognized as causal agents of localized infection affecting the nails, injured skin and cornea. Fusarium sp disseminated infection is almost exclusively found in immunosuppressed patients, chiefly those rendered neutropenic or undergoing chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation. Fusarium sp organisms are now considered emergent pathogens, already being the third most common invasive mycosis, after Candida and Aspergillus, in some centers. We report the case of a 62-year-old woman with multiple myeloma, who developed disseminated fusariosis after her second autologous bone marrow transplantation. On the twentieth day after the transplantation she needed intensive care and died. Disseminated fusariosis is a rare infection, difficult to be suspected in the differential diagnosis, and mostly having a fatal course.

Insuficiência renal aguda dialítica: experiência em Hospital Universitário / Acute renal failure requiring dialytic treatment: experience of a School-Based Hospital

Introdução: Apesar dos avanços terapêuticos, a insuficiência renal aguda (IRA) persiste como uma complicação comum em pacientes hospitalizados, contribuindocom elevada mortalidade. Objetivo: Avaliar a incidência, etiologia, as características clínicas e evolução da população com IRA dialítica ocorrida na unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) do Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. Métodos: Das 8846 internações no período de março de 2001 a março de 2003, analisamos retrospectivamente 49 pacientes, que desenvolveram IRA dialítica na UTI, que resultou numa incidência de 0,7. Avaliamos idade, sexo, causa da internação, fatores de risco, etiologia, albumina, e evolução: oligúria, complicações, número de diálises, dias de internação, mortalidade e recuperação da função renal. Resultados: A idade média foi de 53,3±18,5 anos, e 59,2 eram do sexo masculino. Os fatores de risco para IRA estiveram presentes em 83,7 da amostra e 71,4 tiveram IRA isquêmica ou tóxica. 75,5 dos pacientes apresentaram oligúria e estes evoluíram com mortalidade mais elevada (75,6 vs. 41,6; p<0,05). As complicações avaliadas (sepse e/ou falência de múltiplos órgãos (FMO) ocorreram em 67,3 da amostra e a maioria apresentou FMO. Observamos elevada mortalidade (67,3), associada à FMO e oligúria. Dos sobreviventes, apenas 31,2 normalizaram a creatinina e 56,2 resistiram inclusive em diálise. Conclusões: Na população estudada, a IRA dialítica tem etiologia multifatorial e envolve fatores de risco conhecidos. A mortalidade é elevada e ocorre nos pacientes com marcadores de maior gravidade. Nos sobreviventes, houve predomínio de doença renal prévia e o prejuízo da função renal em longo prazo foi marcante.