This article reports on an investigation into the ability of minced banana peel to extract lead and copper ions from water and the parameters involved in this process. The kinetics of copper and lead uptake reached equilibrium in 10 min and the extraction of metals ions was favorable above pH 3. The medium was characterized by FTIR, which showed absorption bands of carboxylic and amine groups at 1730 and 889 cm1, respectively. The adsorption isotherm fitted by Langmuir’s model showed maximum adsorption capacities of 0.33 and 0.20 mmol g−1 (or 20.97 and 41.44 mg g−1) for Cu(II) and Pb(II), respectively. Minced banana peel was applied in the preconcentration system and showed approximately 20-fold enrichment factor and the column was reused for 11 cycles without loss in the percentage of recovery. The proposed method was applied in the determination of Cu(II) and Pb(II) in a sample of raw river water and was validated by comparison with a standard reference material.

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In-situ hydrological monitoring is essential for a proper decision-making process and modelling. Efforts have been made in Brazil to carry out field activities at the basin scale, but how complete and comprehensive are those studies? Where are they located? How long have they been carried out? What are the main findings? To answer these questions, an overview of experimental monitoring basins in Brazil is presented, listing their geographical locations, monitored variables, operational status, monitoring periods and main publications. We identified 60 monitored sites, spread across most Brazilian biomes, with an average monitoring period of 12 years. However, some publications from these monitoring studies are not fully accessible to the international community. Field hydrology activities in Brazil contribute to a better understanding of hydrological processes in humid and semiarid regions and inform us about the impacts of land-use change on water quality and quantity.

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This paper discusses silica surface modification by a process involving a two-step reaction: anchoring of a silylating agent, followed by an attachment of a 4-amino-2-mercaptopyrimidine molecule. The modified material (Si-BP) was successfully characterized by the FTIR spectra, which revealed amine absorption bands, and through 13 C and 29 Si NMR spectra, which confirm the proposed structure of the modified silica (Si-BP). Si-BP was used to extract cadmium and lead from an aqueous medium at 298 K. The Si-BP kinetics towards metal ions was very fast, i.e., about 10 minutes, although extraction was significantly impaired at pH 3. The series of adsorption isotherms were adjusted to a modified Langmuir equation and the maximum extraction capacity was 0.193 and 0.387 mmol g -1 for Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. An analysis of the Ø values lead to the inference that the resulting metal ligand complex was type 1:1.

Purpose. the study examined if the elastic device named Sling Shot could increase the maximum number of repetitions (MNr) and diminish the mean repetition duration in men with different resistance training experience while performing the bench press exercise in multiple sets. Methods. Overall, 22 men were grouped depending on their resistance training experience. the most experienced group (MEG; 11 men, 65.45 ± 26.27 months of training experience) and the less experienced group (LEG; 11 men, 3.09 ± 2.07 months of training experience) performed 3 sets at 80% of the 1-repetition maximum test as fast as possible, with 2-min rest, of the barbell bench press exercise with and without the Sling Shot. two 3-way ANOVA tests, with = 0.05, were used to compare the MNr and mean repetition duration in inter-and intra-group comparisons across the sets. Results. the Sling Shot increased the MNr in the 2 groups throughout the 3 sets. the increase was 50.5%, 65.4%, and 43.8% in the MEG group and 120%, 68.4%, and 43.3% in the LEG group for the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd sets, respectively. However, there was no difference in the MNr between groups when the Sling Shot was used. Additionally, both groups performed the repetitions with a shorter mean duration with the Sling Shot than without it. No difference was observed between the groups. Conclusions. regardless of training experience, the Sling Shot constitutes an alternative for increasing the MNr and decreasing the mean repetition duration in multiple sets.

Ascorbic acid (AA) is involved in important metabolic processes in the human body. However, its chemical instability requires the assessment of products containing AA. The aim of this study was to develop systems that improve AA stability and to evaluate its release profile, permeation, and skin retention in vitro. For this purpose, we prepared binary systems consisting of propylene glycol and water, microemulsions, liquid crystalline systems, and an emulsion. The AA content in these systems was evaluated over time by measuring the inhibition of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). Our results demonstrated that the binary systems and molecular aggregates were less stable and effective than the emulsion. Thus, in vitro AA release, skin permeation, and retention were evaluated using the emulsion. Our results indicate that AA exhibits low release and permeation levels and a high retention rate in the skin, characteristics desirable in cosmetic products.

The cosmetic field is driven by the development of new inputs and raw materials that are used to the development innovative products for consumers. Among the different sub-areas in cosmetology, skin care is the biggest area, with almost fifty percent of the market, and probably the most innovative of them. Thus, there is a complex value chain organized to develop and produce innovative inputs to supply the demands of the market. Within this context, different basic scientific areas, such as biochemistry and biotechnology, have been a source of inspiration for new active ingredients. In the present article, we will present the pre-clinical and clinical trials involved in the development of a new innovative biomimetic peptide derived from natural wasp venoms content. This new peptide sequence, here named WASP-PEP was designed based on natural peptide templates with some strategic amino acid modifications to increase the molecule's effectiveness. As the main results, we observed that the WASP-PEP is a biocompatible and dermatology tolerate compound, and the peptide can promote some relaxation effects in dermal fibroblasts. This relaxation effect is compatible with a kind of regulated and cumulative botox-like effect. Notablyr, this relaxation effect was also observed in the clinical trial, when volunteer subjects reported that their facial skin was flatter after the use of the WASP-PEP product for one month.