Fernanda Siqueira Souza

Application of a comprehensive protocol for the identification of gaucher disease in Brazil

Gaucher disease (GD) is a sphingolipidosis caused by a genetic defect that leads to glucocerebrosidase (β‐glucosidase) deficiency. Between January 1982 and October 2003, 1,081 blood samples from patients suspected of having GD were referred for biochemical analysis. The activities of the enzymes β‐glucosidase (β‐glu) and chitotriosidase (CT) were measured in these samples. Among the 412 diagnosed cases of GD (38.1%), the great majority were GD type 1. The Brazilian regions with the greatest concentration of these patients were the Southeast, South, and Northeast. The mean age of patients at diagnosis was 19 years. The activity of β‐glu in patients with GD was, on average, 10.7% of that of normal individuals. CT was, on average, 269 times more elevated in this group of patients. Among the 669 cases with no confirmation of GD, there were patients with Niemann–Pick disease types A, B, or C (44 cases), possible heterozygotes for GD (59 cases), patients with other lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) (19 cases) or with other inborn errors of metabolism (3 cases). In 508 cases, no metabolic disorder was found. This study shows that the biochemical protocol employed was effective for the detection of GD, a disease that is reasonably frequent in Brazil.

Degradation of Caffeine by Advanced Oxidative Processes: O3 and O3/UV

The degradation of caffeine by ozone was investigated in this article. In the laboratory experimental scale, the effect of pH, caffeine initial concentration, power UV light and reaction time were studied by experimental design. The use of response surface methodology (RSM) allowed to adjust the optimal regions of the parameters leading to the response factor (% mineralization). In addition, a single polynomial expression for modeling the reaction was obtained. Results clearly demonstrated that caffeine is quickly degraded, but not mineralized as quickly. The results indicated that the caffeine mineralization rate increased with pH and reaction time. Power UV light showed little effect on mineralization efficiency.

Comparison of different advanced oxidation processes for the removal of amoxicillin in aqueous solution

ABSTRACT Amoxicillin (AMX) is a widely used penicillin-type antibiotic whose presence in the environment has been investigated. In this work, the degradation of the AMX in aqueous solutions by ozonation, ozonation with UV radiation (O3/UV), homogeneous catalytic ozonation (O3/Fe2+) and homogeneous photocatalytic ozonation (O3/Fe2+/UV) was investigated. The performance results have been compared in terms of removal of amoxicillin and total organic carbon (mineralization efficiency). In all processes, complete amoxicillin degradation was obtained after 5 min. However, low mineralization was achieved. For the best available process, the potential toxicity of AMX intermediates formed after ozonation was examined using a Fish Embryo Toxicity test. Results reveal that O3 in alkaline solution and O3/Fe2+/UV provide the highest mineralization rates. Ecotoxicity showed that no acute toxicity was observed during the exposure period of 96 h.

Hospital and Municipal Wastewater: Identification of Relevant Pharmaceutical Compounds.

  The interest in the presence of pharmaceutical compounds (PhC) in the environment has increased significantly because of their potential impact on human health. Many studies have demonstrated that PhCs can be found in hospital and municipal wastewaters, mainly due to the inefficiency of the treatment plants. However, the question is how significant the hospital contribution represents in the total municipal wastewater generated. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to perform a comparison between hospital and municipal wastewaters based on literature review, serving as a base for the implementation of more efficient management policies in hospitals and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Results indicate that there are some compounds found in higher concentrations in hospital effluents than in municipal inffluent, particularly the class of antibiotics.

Effect of a peroxysomal proliferator agent on intracellular cholesterol accumulation in cultured fibroblasts from Niemann-Pick type C disease patients

BACKGROUND Niemann-Pick type C (NP-C) disease is a lysosomal storage disorder. It is possible that peroxisomes are also modified and their alterations can be an early event in the process of the disease. As the use of peroxisomal inducers restores the original function of the organelle, the importance of peroxisomes is further emphasized and can suggest future therapeutic interventions. METHODS We treated fibroblast cultures from NP-C patients and normal individuals with 200 and 400 micromol/l clofibrate and evaluated its action on intracellular cholesterol content that was determined by filipin staining and quantitative measurement of unesterified cholesterol. RESULTS The fibroblasts from NP-C patients that did not receive any drug presented a pattern of intense perinuclear fluorescence associated with the accumulation of unesterified cholesterol which was not observed in normal fibroblasts. Comparing the NP-C fibroblasts that were incubated with clofibrate and the same cells without this treatment, there were no changes in cholesterol content by filipin staining, but normal fibroblasts after incubation with this drug showed a slight increase in its cholesterol content. However, unesterified cholesterol was significantly increased in both cells treated with clofibrate when compared to untreated cells. CONCLUSIONS Clofibrate is probably not useful for treatment of NP-C patients because it seems to contribute to an increase the cholesterol in the cells of these individuals.

Determination of pharmaceutical compounds in hospital wastewater and their elimination by advanced oxidation processes

ABSTRACT This study investigates the mineralization efficiency, i.e. removal of total organic carbon (TOC) in hospital wastewater by direct ozonation, ozonation with UV radiation (O3/UV), homogeneous catalytic ozonation (O3/Fe2+) and homogeneous photocatalytic ozonation (O3/Fe2+/UV). The influence of pH and reaction time was evaluated. For the best process, toxicity and degradation efficiency of the selected pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) were determined. The results showed that the PhCs detected in the hospital wastewater were completely degraded when the mineralization efficiency reached 54.7% for O3/UV with 120 minutes of reaction time using a rate of 1.57 g O3 h−1. This process also achieved a higher chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency (64.05%), an increased aromaticity reduction efficiency (81%) and a toxicity reduction.

Consumption-based approach for pharmaceutical compounds in a large hospital

ABSTRACT Hospital wastewater contains a great variety of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs), mainly due to excretion by patients. These PhCs, called emerging pollutants, are not fully eliminated in treatment plants, and are consequently detected in various environmental matrices, contributing to bacterial resistance and adverse environmental impacts on water resources. This study explores a consumption-based approach to predict the contribution of PhCs to a Brazilian hospital’s wastewater. This approach identifies the consumption of major pharmaceutical classes in the studied hospital. Overall, this approach demonstrates a unique opportunity to screen PhCs used in hospitals and identify priority pollutants in hospital wastewater.

Degradation of Acid Black 210 by advanced oxidative processes: O3 and O3/UV

ABSTRACT Acid Black 210 (AB-210) dye is one of the most black dyes used by the leather industry. In the present work, AB-210 degradation in aqueous solution by ozonation (O3) and ozonation with ultraviolet (UV) radiation (O3/UV) was investigated. The effects of pH, initial dye concentration and UV radiation were studied in laboratory scale. Removal was evaluated in terms of residual AB-210 concentration in the treated solution and mineralization efficiency was evaluated by total organic carbon (TOC) analysis. The results indicated that AB-210 is quickly degraded after 15 min but not totally mineralized. It was observed that dye removal of 100% was achieved at pH 3, 7, and 11, while mineralization was found to increase with the pH (55% at pH 11). Concerning UV-C radiation, it enhanced AB-210 degradation at pH 3 but did not reveal any significant effect at pH 7 and 11.