Rooftop water harvesting for managed aquifer recharge and flood mitigation in tropical cities: Towards a strategy of co-benefit evaluations in João Pessoa, northeast Brazil.

Intense urbanisation in many coastal areas has led to intensification of groundwater consumption, while reducing permeable areas and increasing the frequency and magnitude of flooding. Among the potential strategies to compensate for these adverse effects, which are expected to become worse as a result of climate change, rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) in combination with managed aquifer recharge (MAR), may be indicated. This work investigated the performance of different configurations of such a system, tested as a twofold sustainable stormwater and domestic water management tool in a tropical metropole (João Pessoa, Brazil). This area located over a sedimentary aquifer system illustrates the water security challenges of densely urbanised areas in southern cities. To that end, several configurations of rooftop catchments and storage volumes were evaluated, by simulating a MAR-RWH system connected to the regional unconfined aquifer (Barreiras Formation) through a 6″ diameter injection well. Rainfall-runoff-recharge processes and water balances were simulated using monitored high-temporal resolution rainfall data. The results showed that catchments ranging from 180 to 810 m2, connected to tanks from 0.5 to 30.0 m³, are the optimal solutions in terms of efficient rainwater retention and peak flow reduction. These solutions provided mean annual estimates of aquifer recharge between 57 and 255 m³/yr from 2004 to 2019. The results of this study highlight the opportunity for MAR schemes to reconcile stormwater management and water supply goals.

Baryon Acoustic Oscillations from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations: an instrument to observe the 21cm hydrogen line in the redshift range 0.13 < z < 0.45 - status update.

BINGO (BAO from Integrated Neutral Gas Observations) is a unique radio telescope designed to map the intensity of neutral hydrogen distribution at cosmological distances, making the first detection of Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the frequency band 980 MHz - 1260 MHz, corresponding to a redshift range 0.127 < z < 0.449. BAO is one of the most powerful probes of cosmological parameters and BINGO was designed to detect the BAO signal to a level that makes it possible to put new constraints on the equation of state of dark energy. The telescope will be built in Paraíba, Brazil and consists of two \thicksim 40m mirrors, a feedhorn array of 50 horns, and no moving parts, working as a drift-scan instrument. It will cover a 15 ^{\circ} ∘ declination strip centered at \sim \delta ∼ δ =-15 ^{\circ} ∘ , mapping \sim ∼ 5400 square degrees in the sky. The BINGO consortium is led by University of São Paulo with co-leadership at National Institute for Space Research and Campina Grande Federal University (Brazil). Telescope subsystems have already been fabricated and tested, and the dish and structure fabrication are expected to start in late 2020, as well as the road and terrain preparation.

Antiviral Potential of Naphthoquinones Derivatives Encapsulated within Liposomes.

HSV infections, both type 1 and type 2, are among the most widespread viral diseases affecting people of all ages. Their symptoms could be mild, with cold sores up to 10 days of infection, blindness and encephalitis caused by HSV-1 affecting immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals. The severe effects derive from co-evolution with the host, resulting in immune evasion mechanisms, including latency and growing resistance to acyclovir and derivatives. An efficient alternative to controlling the spreading of HSV mutations is the exploitation of new drugs, and the possibility of enhancing their delivery through the encapsulation of drugs into nanoparticles, such as liposomes. In this work, liposomes were loaded with a series of 2-aminomethyl- 3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones derivatives with n-butyl (compound 1), benzyl (compound 2) and nitrobenzene (compound 3) substituents in the primary amine of naphthoquinone. They were previously identified to have significant inhibitory activity against HSV-1. All of the aminomethylnaphthoquinones derivatives encapsulated in the phosphatidylcholine liposomes were able to control the early and late phases of HSV-1 replication, especially those substituted with the benzyl (compound 2) and nitrobenzene (compound 3), which yields selective index values that are almost nine times more efficient than acyclovir. The growing interest of the industry in topical administration against HSV supports our choice of liposome as a drug carrier of aminomethylnaphthoquinones derivatives for formulations of in vivo pre-clinical assays.

New insights into 3-(aminomethyl)naphthoquinones: Evaluation of cytotoxicity, electrochemical behavior and search for structure-activity correlation.

Herein we describe the structure-activity relationship of a large library of Mannich bases (MBs) synthesized from 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone. In general, the compounds have shown high to moderate activity against the HL-60 (promyelocytic leukaemia) cell line with IC50=1.1-19.2µM. Our results suggest that the nature of the aryl moiety introduced in the structure of MBs by the aldehyde component is crucial to the cytotoxicity, and although the group originated from the primary amine has a lesser influence, aromatic ones were found to suppress the activity. Thus, MBs derived from salicylaldehydes or 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and aliphatic amines are the most active compounds. A satisfactory correlation of the EpIIc versus IC50 (µM) in dimethylsulfoxide was observed. The most cytotoxic MBs (Series a-c, derived from salicylaldehydes) showed the least negative EpIIc values. Noteworthy, however, Series d (derived from 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde) did not follow this correlation. They exhibited both the lowest IC50 and the most negative EpIIc values, thus suggesting that other factors also influence the cytotoxicity of the MBs, such as lipophilicity, electronic distribution and hydrogen bonding.

Synthetic aminomethylnaphthoquinones inhibit the in vitro replication of bovine herpesvirus 5.

Bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5) is an etiologic agent of meningoencephalitis in cattle. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiviral potential of a series of synthetic Mannich bases derived from lawsone and to investigate at which stage of the BoHV-5 replicative cycle the compounds might be acting. The most potent and selective inhibitor exhibited CC50 and EC50 values of 1867 µM ± 8.3 and 3.8 µM ± 1.2, respectively (ACV: 989 µM ± 2 and 166 µM ± 2, respectively).

High Frequency Hysteresis Losses on γ-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4: Susceptibility as a Magnetic Stamp for Chain Formation.

In order to understand the properties involved in the heating performance of magnetic nanoparticles during hyperthermia treatments, a systematic study of different γ-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles has been done. High-frequency hysteresis loops at 50 kHz carried out on particles with sizes ranging from 6 to 350 nm show susceptibility χ increases from 9 to 40 for large particles and it is almost field independent for the smaller ones. This suggests that the applied field induces chain ordering in large particles but not in the smaller ones due to the competition between thermal and dipolar energy. The specific absorption rate (SAR) calculated from hysteresis losses at 60 mT and 50 kHz ranges from 30 to 360 W/gFe, depending on particle size, and the highest values correspond to particles ordered in chains. This enhanced heating efficiency is not a consequence of the intrinsic properties like saturation magnetization or anisotropy field but to the spatial arrangement of the particles.

Time-course assessment of the aggregation and metabolization of magnetic nanoparticles.

To successfully develop biomedical applications for magnetic nanoparticles, it is imperative that these nanoreagents maintain their magnetic properties in vivo and that their by-products are safely metabolized. When placed in biological milieu or internalized into cells, nanoparticle aggregation degree can increase which could affect magnetic properties and metabolization. To evaluate these aggregation effects, we synthesized citric acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles whose magnetic susceptibility can be modified by aggregation in agar dilutions and dextran-layered counterparts that maintain their magnetic properties unchanged. Macrophage models were used for in vitro uptake and metabolization studies, as these cells control iron homeostasis in the organism. Electron microscopy and magnetic susceptibility studies revealed a cellular mechanism of nanoparticle degradation, in which a small fraction of the particles is rapidly degraded while the remaining ones maintain their size. Both nanoparticle types produced similar iron metabolic profiles but these profiles differed in each macrophage model. Thus, nanoparticles induced iron responses that depended on macrophage programming. In vivo studies showed that nanoparticles susceptible to changes in magnetic properties through aggregation effects had different behavior in lungs, liver and spleen. Liver ferritin levels increased in these animals showing that nanoparticles are degraded and their by-products incorporated into normal metabolic routes. These data show that nanoparticle iron metabolization depends on cell type and highlight the necessity to assess nanoparticle aggregation in complex biological systems to develop effective in vivo biomedical applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have great potential for biomedical applications. It is however imperative that these nanoreagents preserve their magnetic properties once inoculated, and that their degradation products can be eliminated. When placed in a biological milieu nanoparticles can aggregate and this can affect their magnetic properties and their degradation. In this work, we showed that iron oxide nanoparticles trigger the iron metabolism in macrophages, the main cell type involved in iron homeostasis in the organism. We also show that aggregation can affect nanoparticle magnetic properties when inoculated in animal models. This work confirms iron oxide nanoparticle biocompatibility and highlights the necessity to assess in vivo nanoparticle aggregation to successfully develop biomedical applications.

Aminomethylnaphthoquinones and HSV-1: in vitro and in silico evaluations of potential antivirals.

BACKGROUND: Herpes simplex viruses (HSV) are leading causes of human infections which result in severe manifestations, especially in neonates, immunocompromised and/or transplanted individuals. Current HSV type-1 (HSV-1) resistance to standard antiviral agents is a therapeutic challenge, especially for treating immunocompromised patients. METHODS: Herein we describe the promising antiviral profile of three 2-aminomethyl-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones against HSV-1 using Vero cells. RESULTS: The in silico theoretical analysis indicated that the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) and the conformational features of these molecules are important structural features for modulating their biological activity. Our in vitro results showed that these compounds have significant anti-HSV-1 activity comparable to acyclovir, the antiviral currently used clinically. Importantly two of them showed a lower cytotoxicity profile against Vero cells than acyclovir. The inhibitory mechanism analysis using a time-of-addition assay revealed that all compounds inhibit the late phase of lytic replication. Finally, the highest selectivity index of the first tested compound was almost twice as high as that of acyclovir. CONCLUSIONS: Since resistance is still a problem for treating HSV infections, these compounds present a promising profile toward the development of new strategies for anti-HSV-1 therapy.

Degradation of magnetic nanoparticles mimicking lysosomal conditions followed by AC susceptibility.

BACKGROUND: A deeper knowledge on the effects of the degradation of magnetic nanoparticles on their magnetic properties is required to develop tools for the identification and quantification of magnetic nanoparticles in biological media by magnetic means. METHODS: Citric acid and phosphonoacetic acid-coated magnetic nanoparticles have been degraded in a medium that mimics lysosomal conditions. Magnetic measurements and transmission electron microscopy have been used to follow up the degradation process. RESULTS: Particle size is reduced significantly in 24 h at pH 4.5 and body temperature. These transformations affect the magnetic properties of the compounds. A reduction of the interparticle interactions is observed just 4 h after the beginning of the degradation process. A strong paramagnetic contribution coming from the degradation products appears with time. CONCLUSIONS: A model for the in vivo degradation of magnetic nanoparticles has been followed to gain insight on the changes of the magnetic properties of iron oxides during their degradation. The degradation kinetics is affected by the particle coating, in our case being the phosphonoacetic acid-coated particles degraded faster than the citric acid-coated ones.

Novel platinum(II) complexes of 3-(aminomethyl)naphthoquinone Mannich bases: synthesis, crystal structure and cytotoxic activities.

The first examples of platinum(II) complexes of 3-(aminomethyl)naphthoquinone Mannich bases have been synthesised and their crystal structures are described. Neutral and charged complexes have been obtained, fully characterised and their cytotoxic activities have also been investigated. 3-[(R(1)-amino)(pyridin-2-yl)methyl]-2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones (R(1) = n-Bu, HL1; Bn, HL2; furfuryl, HL3; n-heptyl, HL4 and n-decyl, HL5) coordinate to platinum(II) through the two nitrogen atoms. The neutral complexes cis-[Pt(HL)Cl(2)] 1a-5a are analogous to cisplatin with the bidentate ligand HL and two chlorine atoms occupying cis positions. In the charged complexes cis-[Pt(L(-))(NH(3))(2)]NO(3)1b-5b the deprotonated form of the ligand L(-) also coordinates via the nitrogen atoms, and the other two positions around the platinum(II) ion are completed with NH(3) ligands. The cytotoxic activities of all compounds have been tested for six different cancer cell lines: MDA-MB-435 (melanoma), HL-60 (promyelocytic leukaemia), HCT-8 (colon), SF-295 (brain), OVCAR-8 (ovary) and PC-3 (prostate). Proligands HL4 and HL5 have exhibited high activity against HL-60 (IC(50) = 1.9 and 3.8 µmol L(-1), respectively), HCT-8 (IC(50) = 1.6 and 1.7 µmol L(-1), respectively) and SF-295 (IC(50) = 1.1 and 1.7 µmol L(-1), respectively). The chlorido complexes 1a-5a have shown high to moderate cytotoxic activities, complex 4a (R(1) = n-heptyl) being more active than proligand HL4 against melanoma (IC(50) = 6.4 and > 40 µmol L(-1), respectively) and more active than cisplatin against all tested cell lines. Among the amine charged complexes only 4b and 5b have exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against the tested cell lines, although they were only moderately active against the PC-3 cell line (IC(50) = 29.9 and 15.6 µmol L(-1), respectively). In general the compounds with the longest carbon chains (R(1) = n-heptyl and n-decyl) have exhibited the highest activities.