A critical look at residential electricity conservation campaigns in a developing country environment

This paper analyses survey results of the effectiveness of information campaigns to promote energy efficiency among residential consumers in Brazil. The survey found that consumers have a relatively good knowledge of conservation measures to improve electricity usage. Nevertheless, other approaches are needed to promote energy conservation in the household sector.     

Anguilla anguilla L. plasma cortisol, lactate and glucose responses to abietic acid, dehydroabietic acid and retene

Anguilla anguilla L. were exposed to 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.9 and 2.7 microM abietic (AA), dehydroabietic (DHAA) acids and retene (Re) during 8, 16, 24 and 72 h. The eels plasma cortisol, glucose and lactate were measured. A significant decrease in plasma cortisol was observed at 72 h exposure to 0.9 and 2.7 microM Re. DHAA (0.1 microM) significantly decreased plasma cortisol in eels after 8 and 24 h exposure. However, a significant plasma cortisol increase was found after 16 h, 2.7 microM AA exposure and after 24 h exposure to 0.1 microM and 2.7 microM AA. Furthermore, 72 h exposure to 0.9 microM AA also induced a plasma cortisol increase. A general rise in plasma glucose was detected after all exposure periods to Re. The plasma lactate also increased after 72 h exposure to 2.7 microM AA and after 8 h exposure to 0.1 microM DHAA.     

Soil temperature effect in calculating attenuation and retardation factors

The effect of annual variation of daily average soil temperature, at different depths, in calculating pesticides ranking indexes retardation factor and attenuation factor is presented. The retardation factor and attenuation factor are two site-specific pesticide numbers, frequently used as screening indicator indexes for pesticide groundwater contamination potential. Generally, in the calculation of these two factors are not included the soil temperature effect on the parameters involved in its calculation. It is well known that the soil temperature affects the pesticide degradation rate, water-air partition coefficient and water-soil partition coefficient. These three parameters are components of the retardation factor and attenuation factor and contribute to determine the pesticide behavior in the environment. The Arrhenius equation, van't Hoff equation and Clausius-Clapeyron equation are used in this work for estimating the soil temperature effect on the pesticide degradation rate, water-air partition coefficient and soil-water partition coefficient, respectively. These dependence relationships, between results of calculating attenuation and retardation factors and the soil temperature at different depths, can aid to understand the potential pesticide groundwater contamination on different weather conditions. Numerical results will be presented with pesticides atrazine and lindane in a soil profile with 20 degrees C constant temperature, minimum and maximum surface temperatures varying and spreading in the soil profile between -5 and 30 degrees C and between 15 and 45 degrees C.     

Daily ingestion of 232Th, 238U, 226Ra, 228Ra and 210Pb in vegetables by inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro City

The concentrations of the naturally occurring radionuclides 232Th, 238U, 210Pb, 226Ra and 238Ra were determined in the vegetables (leafy vegetables, fruit, root, bean and rice) and derived products (sugar, coffee, manioc flour, wheat flour, corn flour and pasta) consumed most by the adult inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro City. A total of 88 samples from 26 different vegetables and derived products were analyzed. The highest contribution to radionuclide intake arises from bean, wheat flour, manioc flour, carrot, rice, tomato and potato consumption. The estimated daily intakes due to the consumption of vegetables and derived products are 1.9 mBq of 232Th (0.47 microg), 2.0 mBq of 238U (0.17 microg), 19 mBq of 236Ra, 26 mBq of 210Pb and 47 mBq of 228Ra. The estimated annual effective dose due to the ingestion of vegetables and their derived products with the long-lived natural radionuclides is 14.5 microSv. Taking into account literature data for water and milk from Rio de Janeiro the dose value increases to 29 microSv, with vegetables and derived products responsible for 50% of the dose and water for 48%. 210Pb (62%) and 228Ra (24%) were found to be the main sources for internal irradiation.     

Molecular mechanisms of nickel carcinogenesis: gene silencing by nickel delivery to the nucleus and gene activation/inactivation by nickel-induced cell signaling

We have summarized the molecular and cellular events involved in nickel (Ni) compound induced carcinogenesis. The major hypothesis for nickel carcinogenic action has involved the ability of the Ni compound to deliver high concentrations of Ni intracellularly, enter the nucleus and interact with chromatin. Ni has been found to selectively damage heterochromatin, and a major action of Ni is its ability to silence the expression of genes located near heterochromatin by inducing a loss of histone H4 and H3 acetylation and DNA hypermethylation. When Ni silences critical genes, such as tumor suppressor genes, the cell is altered to a greater state of neoplastic transformation. The carcinogenic hazard of Ni compounds has been directly related to the ability of that Ni compound to raise the intracellular Ni ions. The mechanisms of Ni-induced gene silencing will be discussed. However, recently it has been found that soluble Ni ions can interact with the cell surface receptors and activate cell signaling resulting in the induction of a variety of cellular genes. In particular, the Ca and hypoxia inducible factor pathway is activated in all cells exposed to soluble Ni ions. In the case of HIF-1 induction, a cell is now equipped with the expression of a variety of genes that will allow the cell to survive the lack of oxygen and thus should enable a previously initiated cancer cell to progress into a full malignant state and metastasize. These new findings support the view that soluble Ni ions exhibit carcinogenic potential by activating cell promotion and lend strength to the epidemiological data showing soluble Ni to be associated with cancer risk in Ni refinery workers.     

Exposure of workers in mineral processing industries in Brazil

The mining, milling and processing of uranium and thorium bearing minerals may result in radiation doses to workers. A preliminary survey pilot program, that included six mines in Brazil (two coal mines, one niobium mine, one nickel mine, one gold mine and one phosphate mine), was launched in order to determine the need to control the radioactive exposure of the mine-workers. Our survey consisted of the collection and analysis of urine samples, complemented by feces and air samples. The concentrations of uranium, thorium and polonium were measured in these samples and compared to background data from family members of the workers living in the same dwelling and from residents from the general population of Rio de Janeiro. The results from the coal mines indicated that the inhalation of radon progeny may be a source of occupational exposure. The workers from the nickel, gold and phosphate mines that were visited do not require a program to control internal radiological doses. The niobium mine results showed that in some areas of the industry exposure to thorium and uranium might occur.     

Lightning Fires in a Brazilian Savanna National Park: Rethinking Management Strategies

Fire occurrences and their sources were monitored in Emas National Park, Brazil (17°49′–18°28′S; 52°39′–53°10′W) from June 1995 to May 1999. The extent of burned area and weather conditions were registered. Forty-five fires were recorded and mapped on a GIS during this study. Four fires occurred in the dry winter season (June–August; 7,942 ha burned), all caused by humans; 10 fires occurred in the seasonally transitional months (May and September) (33,386 ha burned); 31 fires occurred in the wet season, of which 30 were caused by lightning inside the park (29,326 ha burned), and one started outside the park (866 ha burned). Wet season lightning fires started in the open vegetation (wet field or grassy savanna) at a flat plateau, an area that showed significantly higher fire incidence. On average, winter fires burned larger areas and spread more quickly, compared to lightning fires, and fire suppression was necessary to extinguish them. Most lightning fires were patchy and extinguished primarily by rain. Lightning fires in the wet season, previously considered unimportant episodes, were shown to be very frequent and probably represent the natural fire pattern in the region. Lightning fires should be regarded as ecologically beneficial, as they create natural barriers to the spread of winter fires. The present fire management in the park is based on the burning of preventive firebreaks in the dry season and exclusion of any other fire. This policy does not take advantage of the beneficial effects of the natural fire regime and may in fact reduce biodiversity. The results presented here stress the need for reevaluating present policies and management procedures concerning fire in cerrado conservation areas.     

Characterization and recycling of polymeric components present in cell phones

The cell phone market is developing at a rapid speed. Today there are more than 1.6 billion consumers in the world, and the lifetime of a cell phone is less than 2 years. As a consequence, there is an increase in the waste associated to this product, and many alternatives to the disposal of the cell phones are being studied, such as recycling which shows to be the most important. It is crucial to know what materials constitute the cell phone in order to carry out recycling and determine environmental and economical issues. This work presents an evaluation of the cell phone components, characterizing the raw materials and some properties of the recycled materials.     

Liver glutathione content and glutathione‐dependent enzymes of two species of freshwater fish as bioindicators of chemical pollution

Abstract

Glutathione content and glutahione‐dependent enzymes were measured in the liver of two fish species, gudgeon (Gobio gobio) and roach (Rutilus arcasii), from the river Bernesga (Spain) caught downstream and upstream of the waste site of several chemical industries. Animals from contaminated sites display a reduced glutathione concentration and a tendency to the decrease of glutathione S‐transferase activity. Glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly elevated only in the liver of Gobio gobio and glutathione reductase activity in that of Rutilus arcasii. Our data indicate that the glutathione system constitutes a sensitive biochemical indicator of chemical pollution. Relative changes of glutathione and glutathione‐dependent enzymes in both fish species suggest a different susceptibility to toxins.