Air pollution and lung diseases in Oporto Area

This area has a rate of patients with obstructive chronic lung disease that is the highest in Portugal and the second in Europe. Levels of pollution observed in 1985/86 and 1986/87 allowed evaluating the effects of concentrations lower than those that usually cause acute episodes. It was observed that even low levels of strong acidity can be related with lung diseases, when observed simultaneously with appreciable levels of black smoke; climatic factors have a synergetic effect.     

Predominance of alcohol and illicit drugs among traffic accidents fatalities in an urban area of Brazil

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of alcohol and illicit drug use among victims of fatal traffic accidents in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória, Brazil, during the period 2011–2012.

Methods: Blood samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of drugs from 391 deceased victims of traffic crashes that occurred in the Metropolitan Region of Vitória, Brazil. The victims included drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Sociodemographic variables such as age, gender, day of the week, and period of the year in which the accidents occurred were recorded. The analyses were performed by a gas chromatography–flame ionization method for alcohol and by a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for amphetamines, cocaine, and cannabis.

Results: The results showed that 44.8% (n = 175) of all cases were positive for alcohol and/or illicit drugs. The detection of alcohol and/or drugs was more frequent in young males, aged 17 to 34, whose samples were positive in 46.8% of cases. Small differences among drivers, passengers, and pedestrians were observed (drivers = 45.9%, passengers = 46.4%, and pedestrians = 45.6%). In general, the most prevalent drug was alcohol, with 141 positive cases (36.1%), followed by cocaine, with 47 positive cases (12%). Amphetamines and cannabis had positivity rates of 4.1 and 4.3%, with 16 and 17 positive cases, respectively. The combined use of alcohol and other drugs was found in 36 cases (9.2%). Crack cocaine use was observed in 27.7% of the positive cases for cocaine.

Conclusions: For the effective reduction of traffic accidents related to driving under influence of drugs (DUID), we suggest the intensification of enforcement actions against the use of alcohol by drivers, the definition of which illicit drugs should be surveyed, as well the cutoff values, the promotion of changing legislation to oblige drivers to provide samples for toxicological testing, and the establishment of public information programs and specific actions aimed at young drivers to promote behavioral changes.     

The Brazilian National Intercomparison Program (PNI/IRD/CNEN): evaluation of 15 years of data

The Instituto de Radioprote??o e Dosimetria has been coordinating the National Intercomparison Program (PNI) for 15 years, from 1991 to 2005. The objective is to evaluate the analytical performance of the laboratories in low-level activity concentration radionuclide assays in environmental samples. This work presents an evaluation of PNI data from 42 intercomparison runs, which distributed to 22 Brazilian laboratories 2511 samples evaluating 5768 radionuclide assays involving 32 radionuclides in the period from 1991 to 2004. The laboratory performance was evaluated using the Normalized Standard Deviation used by the U.S. EPA. For comparison aims, the Normalized Deviation, used by BIPM was also applied. Laboratory performance were grouped and evaluated in three periods of 5 years each. The first period shows, an average value of good performance of 71.2%, the second shows an average of 78.6% and the last an average of 82.3%. Performance for each kind of radionuclide is also presented.     

Degradation of propyl paraben by activated persulfate using iron-containing magnetic carbon xerogels: investigation of water matrix and process synergy effects

An advanced oxidation process comprising an iron-containing magnetic carbon xerogel (CX/Fe) and persulfate was tested for the degradation of propyl paraben (PP), a contaminant of emerging concern, in various water matrices. Moreover, the effect of 20 kHz ultrasound or light irradiation on process performance was evaluated. The pseudo-first order degradation rate of PP was found to increase with increasing SPS concentration (25–500 mg/L) and decreasing PP concentration (1690–420 μg/L) and solution pH (9–3). Furthermore, the effect of water matrix on kinetics was detrimental depending on the complexity (i.e., wastewater, river water, bottled water) and the concentration of matrix constituents (i.e., humic acid, chloride, bicarbonate). The simultaneous use of CX/Fe and ultrasound as persulfate activators resulted in a synergistic effect, with the level of synergy (between 35 and 50%) depending on the water matrix. Conversely, coupling CX/Fe with simulated solar or UVA irradiation resulted in a cumulative effect in experiments performed in ultrapure water.     

Biogeography of Atlantic and Mediterranean ascidians

Ascidian fauna have been intensively studied in the Atlantic Ocean, adjacent subpolar regions and Mediterranean Sea for the last 20 years. Here, we have described current species distribution patterns and identified nested areas of endemism using parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE). We also identified diversity hotspots, areas in which species occurred exclusively, and gaps in information about distribution patterns. Finally, we compared ascidian distributions among various proposed biogeographic divisions. The comprehensive literature review provided data on the geographic distribution of 627 species of ascidians. In the West Atlantic, there were three peaks in richness: north Caribbean—96 species, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro—61 species and the subantarctic region—54 species. In the eastern Atlantic, the greatest richness occurred on Spanish and French coasts—91 species and in Senegal—83 species. In the Mediterranean, the greatest richness was in Spain and France—142 species and Italy—127 species. PAE designated 20 areas of endemism nested within eight larger regions that were more or less in agreement with realms or provinces of previous studies: North Atlantic, Caribbean, southeastern Brazil, Magellanic, Subantarctic, Tropical West Africa, South Africa, and Mediterranean. Distribution patterns of the Ascidiacea, in general, followed previously proposed divisions of regions and provinces in the Atlantic and adjacent polar regions, but not subdivisions of these regions.     

Seaborne iron ore trade in the 1990s

This paper discusses how world steel production and seaborne iron ore trade have grown since 1950. The role of steel production forecasts in determining investment in the iron ore industry is examined. Forecasts for world steel production and the demand and supply of seaborne iron ore in the 1990s are presented. It is predicted that world steel production will increase by 64 million tons between 1991 and 2000. This increase will be located principally in the developing countries and China. The corresponding increase in seaborne iron ore trade will be approximately 55 million tons. Expansion projects will be located mainly in Australia and Brazil, but no greenfield iron ore projects will be undertaken. By the end of the decade, the demand for seaborne iron ore will be equal to its supply.     

Estimating the Relative Efficiency of Brazilian Publicly and Privately Owned Water Utilities: A Stochastic Cost Frontier Approach1

Abstract: This paper assesses cost efficiencies of Brazilian public and private companies of water supply. To measure the efficiency, we used a stochastic frontier model derived from the translog family – a specification similar to a Cobb‐Douglas including a quadratic term in log output. The model parameters are estimated by maximum likelihood using Brazilian data for the year 2002. Statistical inference leads to the conclusion that there is no evidence that private firms and public firms are significantly different in terms of efficiency measurements.