No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This project was undertaken with the aim of developing a method for the assay of iodoamino acids in human serum. The iodoamino acids were separated by an ion exchange technique, and the resulting solutions analyzed for iodine using neutron activation analysis. This analytical system was applied to the analysis.of a number of serum samples from hypothyroid and hyperthyroid subjects. This allowed the division of each of these conditions into a number of classes in terms of the deviation of the individual iodoamino acid concentration from their normal ranges. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic are part of the sub-Arctic region, a remote region far from industrial activity. In spite of this remoteness, the Islands are not a sanctuary: exposures and effects of environmental pollutants mar its natural beauty and wildlife. In the Arctic regions, fish, sea mammals and seabirds have shown to contain elevated levels of the classical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as more recent POPs such as the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Human populations living in the Arctic regions are usually highly dependent on seafood and seabirds as food sources, and diet becomes their major source of exposures to POPs. As reported in the 1980’s, residents of the Faroe Islands were shown to have high concentrations of organohalogen substances (OHS) in their breast milk. Long-finned pilot whales (<i>Globicephala melas</i>) blubber and meat have been shown to be a major source of OHS exposure for some of the Faroe Islanders.</p><p>The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the sources and concentrations of some POPs and their metabolites for the Faroese population. First, human milk and serum from pregnant women (mothers) and children were analyzed for PBDEs, PCBs, and polychlorinated biphenylols (OH-PCB), the major PCB metabolites. Second, POPs were measured in seabirds, i.e. PCBs in fulmars (<i>Fulmarus glacialis</i>) and guillemots (<i>Uria algae</i>), and PBDEs in fulmars to search for other potential sources of POPs exposure.</p><p>The results reinforce previous findings that part of the Faroe Island population is highly exposed to OHS. Median concentrations (430 ng/g lipid weight (l.w.) of CB-153) in maternal serum (1994-95) are among the highest in the world. Serum concentrations of CB-153 in children (age 7, samples collected in the early 2000’s) were approximately 90% of those in the mothers, sampled 1994-95. Similarly high CB-153 concentrations (380 ng/g l.w.) were measured in samples of mother’s milk, collected in 1999. The OH-PCB concentrations were also high in segments of the population, with 2.9 ng/g fresh weight as the sum of five OH-PCBs. Except for 4-OH-CB107, concentrations of OH-PCBs were generally lower in children than in mothers.</p><p>The ΣPBDE median concentrations in maternal serum and human milk (1999) are at the higher end of those reported in Europe, with levels of 9.5 and 8.2 ng/g l.w. respectively. ΣPBDE levels increase in human milk samples collected at three different time points (1987-1999), mainly due to increasing BDE-153 concentrations. The range of serum ΣPBDE concentrations in mothers and children are similar, although the congener patterns show differences. BDE-47 is the dominant congener in maternal serum, while BDE-153 is the major congener in children. The differences seen in PBDE congener patterns may arise differences in dates of sampling (7 years) for the two populations, maternal serum sampled in 1994-95 and children serum sampled in 2000-01, rather than from differences in uptake/metabolism or in contemporary exposures.</p><p>PCB concentrations in fulmars and pilot whales show similar ranges. In contrast, PBDE concentrations are 100 times higher in pilot whales than in fulmars. Consequently, Faroese may be especially exposed to PCBs via consumption of fulmars and fulmar eggs, while the exposure to PBDEs is less pronounced.</p><p>Results from this thesis highlight the pronounced exposures to PCBs, OH-PCBs, and PBDEs among residents of the Faroe Islands, a remote region in the Northern Atlantic far away from industrial and urban sources of pollution.</p>

The Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic are part of the sub-Arctic region, a remote region far from industrial activity. In spite of this remoteness, the Islands are not a sanctuary: exposures and effects of environmental pollutants mar its natural beauty and wildlife. In the Arctic regions, fish, sea mammals and seabirds have shown to contain elevated levels of the classical persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as more recent POPs such as the polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Human populations living in the Arctic regions are usually highly dependent on seafood and seabirds as food sources, and diet becomes their major source of exposures to POPs. As reported in the 1980’s, residents of the Faroe Islands were shown to have high concentrations of organohalogen substances (OHS) in their breast milk. Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) blubber and meat have been shown to be a major source of OHS exposure for some of the Faroe Islanders. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate the sources and concentrations of some POPs and their metabolites for the Faroese population. First, human milk and serum from pregnant women (mothers) and children were analyzed for PBDEs, PCBs, and polychlorinated biphenylols (OH-PCB), the major PCB metabolites. Second, POPs were measured in seabirds, i.e. PCBs in fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and guillemots (Uria algae), and PBDEs in fulmars to search for other potential sources of POPs exposure. The results reinforce previous findings that part of the Faroe Island population is highly exposed to OHS. Median concentrations (430 ng/g lipid weight (l.w.) of CB-153) in maternal serum (1994-95) are among the highest in the world. Serum concentrations of CB-153 in children (age 7, samples collected in the early 2000’s) were approximately 90% of those in the mothers, sampled 1994-95. Similarly high CB-153 concentrations (380 ng/g l.w.) were measured in samples of mother’s milk, collected in 1999. The OH-PCB concentrations were also high in segments of the population, with 2.9 ng/g fresh weight as the sum of five OH-PCBs. Except for 4-OH-CB107, concentrations of OH-PCBs were generally lower in children than in mothers. The ΣPBDE median concentrations in maternal serum and human milk (1999) are at the higher end of those reported in Europe, with levels of 9.5 and 8.2 ng/g l.w. respectively. ΣPBDE levels increase in human milk samples collected at three different time points (1987-1999), mainly due to increasing BDE-153 concentrations. The range of serum ΣPBDE concentrations in mothers and children are similar, although the congener patterns show differences. BDE-47 is the dominant congener in maternal serum, while BDE-153 is the major congener in children. The differences seen in PBDE congener patterns may arise differences in dates of sampling (7 years) for the two populations, maternal serum sampled in 1994-95 and children serum sampled in 2000-01, rather than from differences in uptake/metabolism or in contemporary exposures. PCB concentrations in fulmars and pilot whales show similar ranges. In contrast, PBDE concentrations are 100 times higher in pilot whales than in fulmars. Consequently, Faroese may be especially exposed to PCBs via consumption of fulmars and fulmar eggs, while the exposure to PBDEs is less pronounced. Results from this thesis highlight the pronounced exposures to PCBs, OH-PCBs, and PBDEs among residents of the Faroe Islands, a remote region in the Northern Atlantic far away from industrial and urban sources of pollution.

No description available.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / As imunoglobulinas sÃo proteÃnas do soro humano que despertam maior interesse em sua utilizaÃÃo devido Ãs inÃmeras funÃÃes diagnÃsticas e terapÃuticas. Pesquisas nessa Ãrea contemplam assuntos de Ãmbito tÃcnico cientÃfico, beneficiando setores carentes no nosso paÃs no quesito da saÃde humana. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho teve por finalidade avaliar o potencial da matriz quitosana/alginato epoxilado (QAE) com corantes reativos imobilizados, na purificaÃÃo de IgG humana utilizando a tÃcnica por cromatografia de afinidade. Os corantes Cibacron Blue F3GA, Reativo Verde 5 (Procion HE-4G) e o Reativo Azul 4 (Procion Blue MX-R) foram imobilizados nas partÃculas de quitosana/alginato epoxilada e nÃo foi observado desprendimentos desses corantes nos ensaios cromatogrÃficos. A matriz de QAE com e sem corantes imobilizados foram caracterizados por Espectroscopia de Infravermelho por Transformada de Fourier (FTIR) visando verificar os grupos especÃficos dos corantes na superfÃcie da matriz. Foi investigado a influÃncia do tipo de tampÃo e pH na adsorÃÃo de IgG de alta pureza. Os materiais apresentaram elevada capacidade de adsorÃÃo para diferentes sistemas tamponantes: MOPS (Ãcido morfolinopropanosulfÃnico), HEPES (Ãcido N-2-hidroxietilpiperazino-Nâ-2-etanosulfÃnico), MES (4 â Ãcido morfolinoetanosulfÃnico) e FS (Fosfato de SÃdio). As isotermas de adsorÃÃo foram obtidas em sistemas em batelada e os dados experimentais foram bem correlacionados pelos modelos de Langmuir e Langmuir-Freundlich. O adsorvente quitosana/alginato epoxilado com corante Reativo Azul 4 imobilizado apresentou quantidade mÃxima de adsorÃÃo de IgG superior a 180 mg/g, superando os outros materiais. Os trÃs adsorventes apresentaram constantes de dissociaÃÃo (KD e KDLF) entre 10-5 e 10-6 mol/L. Os ensaios cromatogrÃficos foram realizados com IgG de alta pureza e soro humano diluÃdo 10 vezes e realizaram-se balanÃos de massas, anÃlises de eletroforeses e quantificaÃÃo de proteÃnas totais pelo mÃtodo de Bradford. Nos ensaios em leito fixo com soro humano necessitou-se de 15,0 mL de soro diluÃdo para a saturaÃÃo do leito e as amostras coletadas das fraÃÃes cromatogrÃficas indicaram a purificaÃÃo de IgG do soro humano atravÃs da eletroforese. Entre os trÃs ligantes pseudobiespecÃficos (corantes) estudados no presente trabalho, o corante Cibacron Blue F3GA apresentou maior potencial para purificar IgG do soro humano em todos os trÃs tampÃes analisados, devido a maior seletividade deste por IgG comparado aos demais corantes imobilizados.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Crude extracts from Myrothamnus flabellifolius were fractionated through variouschromatography techniques in order to achieve satisfactory separations. Two compounds, arbutin and lupeol, were isolated from the butanol and ethyl acetate extracts, respectively. Structural elucidation of the compounds was carried out on the basis of 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. It was the first time that lupeol had been isolated from M. flabellifolius.The water extract was found to contain heterogeneous pectic polysaccharides. Three polysaccharide fractions were separated from the water extract, namely; MPS, MPS-I and MPS-II. The predominant fraction was found to be MPS, with a molecular weight distribution of 2 X 105 Da. The polysaccharides were made up the following monosaccharides; arabinose, rhamnose, xylose, mannose, galactose and glucose. Monosaccharide composition was determined through acid hydrolysis at high temperatures, followed by GC analysis. The linkage analysis was carried out by GC-MS, following partial methylation of the polysaccharides. The use of human serum albumin (HSA) following its anchoring on magnetic nanoparticles, in order to isolate targeted saponins from Sutherlandia frutescens led to successful isolation of four saponins, namely; sutherlandiosides A-D. The saponins showed great affinity to bind to the HSA.