Habitat monitoring and genotoxicity in Ucides cordatus (Crustacea: Ucididae), as tools to manage a mangrove reserve in southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, the state of São Paulo contains both preserved areas (Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station) and extremely impacted ones (Cubatão Municipality). This study evaluated the concentrations of five metals (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Hg) in two mangroves with different levels of anthropogenic impact and the apparent genotoxicity to Ucides cordatus. Water and sediment samples were obtained, and metal concentrations were determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The genotoxic impact was quantified based on the number of micronucleated cells per 1,000 analyzed (MN‰), using hemolymph slides stained with Giemsa. Metal concentrations in water were below the detection limit, except for lead, although no significant difference was observed between the areas (P?>?0.05). Sediment from Cubatão had higher concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr, and Cu than sediment from Juréia-Itatins (P?<?0.05), but no significant differences in metal concentrations were detected among depth strata of the sediment (P?>?0.05). Crabs from Cubatão had a 2.6 times higher mean frequency of micronucleated cells (5.2?±?1.8 MN‰) than those from Juréia-Itatins (2.0?±?1.0 MN‰; P?<?0.0001). The more-polluted conditions found in the mangrove sediments of Cubatão were reflected in the micronucleus assay, demonstrating their genotoxic effect; however, genetic damage should be attributed to a synergistic effect with other kinds of pollutants previously recorded in different environments of Cubatão. U. cordatus proved to be an excellent bioindicator of mangrove pollution. This study established, for the first time, the normal frequency of MN‰ in a population of this species within an ecological station.     

Value congruence,control, sense of community and demands as determinants of burnout syndrome among hospitality workers

Employees working in the hospitality industry are constantly exposed to occupational stressors that may lead employees into experiencing burnout syndrome. Research addressing the interactive effects of control, community and value congruence to alleviate the impact of workplace demands on experiencing burnout is relatively limited. The present study examined relationships among control, community and value congruence, workplace demands and the three components of burnout. A sample of 418 employees working in a variety of hospitality associations including restaurants and hotels in Spain were recruited. Moderation analyses and linear regressions analyzed the predictive power of control, community and value congruence as moderating variables. Results indicate that control, community and value congruence were successful buffers in the relationships between workplace demands and the burnout dimensions. The present findings offer suggestions for future research on potential moderating variables, as well as implications for reducing burnout among hospitality employees.     

Sulfated Polysaccharides from Tunisian Fish Skins: Antioxidant,DNA Damage Protective Effect and Antihypertensive Activities

Sulfated polysaccharides were isolated from two Tunisian fish skins grey triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) (GTSP) and smooth hound (Mustelus mustelus) (SHSP). Their chemical and physical characteristics were investigated. The Analysis of surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy of both sulfated polysaccharides displayed the same shape with netted structure. The antioxidant activities of GTSP and SHSP were evaluated using various in vitro antioxidant assays: 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity, reducing power, β-carotene bleaching inhibition assay (IC_{50 GTSP} = 0.5 mg mL^?1 and IC_{50 SHSP} = 0.6 mg mL^?1) and DNA nicking assay. Both sulfated polysaccharides exhibited good antioxidant activities. The sulfated polysaccharides showed strong angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory activities (IC_{50 GTSP} = 0.16 mg mL^?1 and IC_{50 SHSP} = 0.18 mg mL^?1). These results revealed that GTSP and SHSP exhibited significant antihypertensive activities. Overall, the results indicated that grey triggerfish and smooth hound skins can be used to generate high value-added products, thus offering a valuable source of bioactive sulfated polysaccharides for application in wide range of biotechnological applications.     

Method for quantitative assessment of the domino effect in industrial sites

Accidents caused by the domino effect are the most destructive accidents related to industrial sites. The most typical primary incidents for a domino effect sequence are explosions (57%), followed by fires (43%) (Abdolhamidzadeh et al., 2010). These former can generate three escalation vectors (heat load, overpressure, and fragments), and may affect the surrounding equipments and/or facilities. If the affected targets are damaged, they may also explode and generate other threats to other surrounding facilities and so on. These chains of accidents may lead to catastrophic consequences and may affect not only the industrial sites, but also people, environment and economy. This paper presents a methodology for quantitative assessment of domino effects caused by fire and explosion on storage areas. The individual and societal risks are also estimated.     

Application of mechanical processing operations for the recycling of nickel metal hydride batteries

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Rapid technological development in recent decades has led to very high generation of waste electrical and electronic equipment, including exhausted...     

Effects of a shipwreck on the zooplankton community in a port region of the Amazon

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The port regions of the Amazon are subject to environmental impacts high shipping traffic. In October 2015, a cargo ship containing 5000 oxen sank in...     

Environmental monitoring of water resources around a municipal landfill of the Rio Grande do Sul state,Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In Brazil, landfills are commonly used as a method for the final disposal of waste that is compliant with the legislation. This technique, however,...     

UV spectra analysis for water quality monitoring in a fuel park wastewater treatment plant

In the context of the high application potentials for on-line measurements in wastewater quality monitoring, UV spectroscopy has received recent attention. In the present work UV spectrophotometric analyses were coupled to principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) to characterize samples taken from a fuel park wastewater treatment plant and to attempt preliminary contaminant identification in the treated wastewater. The score plot resulting from PCA identified two different groups of spectra, one including the influents to the biological reactor and the other the treated wastewater samples. Among the latter, weekday and weekend samples could be further distinguished. The same groups of samples were identified in a dendrogram from CA. The score plot and the dendrogram also allowed the tentative identification of employed process chemicals (lubricant and detergents) as residual contaminants in the treated effluent.