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Copyright of Revista IRRIGA - Brazilian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Revista IRRIGA (Brazilian Journal of Irrigation & Drainage) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Anuario do Instituto de Geociencias is the property of Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Geociencias and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The present study aimed to compare Household Budget Survey (HBS) data on food purchasing and individual food consumption, collected in the same nationwide survey.Design: Food purchase information for each household was collected by a seven-day collective acquisition diary, applied to 55 970 households. Food consumption information was obtained from household members over 10 years old by the application of two non-consecutive food records in a sub-sample of the HBS. Cooking and correction factors were applied when necessary, and all food items reported were grouped into twelve main food groups. Food purchase and consumption data were presented as absolute weight (g/person per d) and as relative contribution to energy intake (%) for the overall study population, which was stratified according to household income.Setting: Brazil.ParticipantsNational estimates of food consumption and purchase for Brazil.Results: The greatest differences between purchase and consumption data (purchase minus consumption) were observed for meat (-168 g), beans/legumes (-48 g), roots/tubers (-36 g) and fruits (-31 g). When expressed in terms of energy contribution, the highest differences were found for cereals (13 %) and oils and fats (11 %). Differences between purchase and consumption data were generally lower in the highest compared with the lowest household income quintile; and were lower for most main food groups when considering only foods reported as being eaten at home.Conclusions: With few exceptions, food purchase expressed as relative energy contribution, as opposed to absolute weight, can provide a good picture of actual consumption in the Brazilian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantitative validation study for mycotoxins in food by LC-MS/MS. • Estimation of uncertainty by bottom-up method. • Co-occurrence of multi-mycotoxins in cocoa beans. The aim of this manuscript was to validate and apply an analytical methodology for the simultaneous determination of 34 mycotoxins in cocoa. The extraction method used in the tests was a liquid–liquid partition by NaCl addition with a freezing step followed by quantification using LC-MS/MS. The results were discussed based on national and international directives for food contaminants. The recoveries and precision were adequate, except for the mycotoxins ionized with the ammonium adduct (NH 4 +), E-cristinine and β-ZOL. This result directly influenced the measurement uncertainty of these mycotoxins, because the precision and the correction factor of the recovery were the factors with the greatest impact on the uncertainty of the method. The evaluation of the matrix effect showed considerable signal suppression for 53 % of the evaluated mycotoxins. Nevertheless, the mycotoxins exhibited relatively low quantification limits, with values between 1 and 75 μg kg−1. The validated methodology was applied to 15 cocoa samples collected in warehouses in Brazil. Positive results were found for all the evaluated samples, in which nine toxins were detected out of the 34 investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate estimates of group sizes through line transect sampling methods are important to correctly ascertain the abundance of animals that occur in groups. Since the average observed group size is a component of the distance sampling formula, bias in these data leads to biased abundance estimates. This study aimed to evaluate the potential errors in group size estimation during line transect ship surveys to estimate abundances of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski 1781). In a research cruise along the Brazilian coast, an experiment to collect group size information was conducted from two different sighting platforms on the same vessel. Group sizes were recorded by primary observers at first sighting (PO1) and, in some cases, after some time (PO2). A tracker (T) was located on a higher platform to estimate the sizes of groups detected by the primary observers, but tracked one group at a time until it passed abeam. Thus, the dedicated effort to obtain multiple group counts (i.e. higher platform, more time and no responsibility for detecting new groups) was expected to provide more accurate numbers. PO2 estimates were compared with PO1 estimates, and T estimates were compared with both PO1 and PO2. Additionally, ratios between T and both PO2 (R1) and PO1 (R2), and between PO2 and PO1 (R3) were calculated. To investigate a possible improvement in abundance estimates, a correction factor (CF) was computed from the ratio of T and PO2 means. Primary observer self-correction (= 1.60, CV% = 70.3) was statistically similar to the correction for the tracker (= 1.62, CV% = 84.1). CF resulted in 1 and would not improve abundance estimates. This study supports that observers conducting line transect surveys on large whales have the potential to provide group size information that is as adequate as the correction procedure adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When DNA profile comparisons between a crime scene trace and a reference sample generate correspondence, the match probability has to be estimated, so that evaluation of the strength of the forensic DNA evidence can be made. The random match probability estimations require information on allele frequencies and an adjustment factor, referred to as theta (θ) or Fst, a co-ancestry correction factor for subpopulation effects. The θ value has been standardized for urban and isolated populations, but inconsistencies have been reported when it is specifically calculated for smaller and isolated populations, including Amerindian populations. Notably, attempts to characterize forensic markers of these minor populations have been extensively limited and more conservative estimates of the correction factor may be generated for each of them. Therefore, we estimate allele frequencies of 21 autosomal STR markers used for forensic testing and calculated relevant forensic parameters for the set. In addition, we featured the possible structure of five Brazilian Amerindian populations that have been genetically isolated for centuries so we could obtain the appropriate θ value for them. The sample consisted of 319 individuals: (1) 121 Kaingang, from two communities: Ivaí (KIV=61) and Rio das Cobras (KRC=60); and (2) 198 Guaranis from three communities: Mbya from Rio das Cobras (GRC=51), Guarani Ñandeva (GND=71) and Guarani Kaiowá (GKW=76). Between Guarani populations low (Rst=0.0402, p < 10−4) to high (Rst=0.1557, p < 10−5) differentiation was found. Regarding Guarani and Kaingang populations, intermediate (Rst=0.0590, p < 10−5) to high (Rst=0.1604, p < 10−5) differentiation was found. The two Kaingang populations showed very low differentiation between them (Rst=0.0017, p = 0.27), which justifies the union of both genetic data for forensic databases and calculations. The combined power of discrimination (PD) and the combined power of exclusion (PE) were calculated for each population, demonstrating the usefulness of this set of markers in forensic and kinship analysis regarding these populations. Considering the demographic heterogeneity of Amerindian populations in general, the Fst mean value (0.03) was evaluated regarding 43 different indigenous populations from the Americas, including Guaranis and Kaingangs. This result confirms the adequacy of the standardized θ value for the forensic random match probability estimations involving Amerindian populations. • Forensic STR markers from Brazilian Amerindian populations were obtained. • Adequacy of the standardized θ value for forensic estimations was confirmed. • Kaingangs are more closely related than the Guaranis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Black individuals have a great risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) that is associated with high morbimortality, so it is important to classify them into the correct renal function group. Some equations used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) divide patients only into two categories: African Americans and non-African Americans. The CKD-EPI equation was tested only in African Americans, and not Black patients from other regions, and takes into consideration self-reported color-race instead of genomic ancestry (GA) to determine the use of the ethnic correction factor. So far, this equation has not been evaluated in admixed populations, such as the Brazilian, using the percentage of GA to decide to apply the correction factor. The purpose of our study was to compare, in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D), the eGFR calculated without the use of the correction factor, with the values obtained using the correction factor in patients presenting 50% or more of African GA. Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter study enrolled 1279 patients from all geographic regions of Brazil. The CKD-EPI equation was used and CKD was defined as eGFR < 60 ml/min. GA were inferred using a panel of 46 AIM-INDEL, afterwards patients presenting an African GA ≥ 50% were selected. Results: Initially, all patients with African GA ≥ 50% (n = 85) were considered as non-African Americans when calculating the eGFR and afterwards the ethnic correction factor was applied to recalculate the eGFR. CKD was present in 23 patients and 56.5% of them were redefined as having normal renal function after using the correction factor, mainly women [11 of the 13 patients (84.6%)], with GFR between 52–59.3 ml/min. Conclusions: More than half of the patients in the study were reclassified to a normal renal function group, showing that GA may be an important tool to decide between the use of the ethnic correction factor in the CKD-EPI equation in a highly admixed population of patients with T1D. A large-scale study involving GA and eGFR in comparison to reference methods should be conducted to better establish whether or not the ethnic correction factor should be used in highly admixed populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotactic radiosurgery is a procedure that primarily treats intracranial lesions to destroy tumour cells that are inaccessible surgically. Gamma Knife® is a stereotactic radiosurgery unit that can treat brain lesions using 60Co beams, non-invasively. Fields from Gamma Knife® helmets are considered small, therefore, in order to ensure accurate dosimetry, detectors for dose measurements have to be carefully chosen. The IAEA TRS 483 code of practice is a standardized guide for dosimetric procedures and indication of detectors for reference dosimetry of small fields used in radiotherapy beams. The objective of this work was to assess the implementation of the TRS 483 recommendations for Gamma Knife® dosimetry, using two micro-ionization chambers, Exradin A16 and PTW Pinpoint 3D 31016. An acrylic phantom with the same dimensions as those provided by Elekta, Gamma Knife's manufacturer, was built as an alternative. The phantom was characterized for its implementation for Gamma Knife® dosimetry and to be used as part of an audit kit by a Secondary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory (SSDL) in Brazil. Alanine pellets were used as reference detector. Dosimetry results for the acrylic phantom were compared with the ones obtained in phantoms specified by Elekta, which are made of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Solid Water materials. TRS 483 recommended correction factors were used to calculate the absorbed dose to the water taking into consideration the phantom material. Absorbed dose measurements performed using the designed acrylic phantom showed results comparable to the ones obtained with commercially available phantoms. The new phantom is suitable for Gamma Knife reference and relative dosimetry. The results of this work aim to contribute to the implementation of the TRS 483, mainly in the area of Gamma Knife dosimetry and the use of small volume ionization chambers. • Following TRS 483 this work aimed to design and build an acrylic phantom. • The purpose was to contribute to the implementation of TRS 483. • The acrylic phantom can be used in Gamma Knife® dosimetry. • Micro-ionization chambers and alanine can be used with the acrylic phantom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]