Evaluating airport efficiency through a single analytical dimension, whether operational throughput, airline response, service quality, or environmental sustainability, risks misrepresenting overall infrastructure performance. This study examines dimensional divergence by estimating four Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models for Brazil's twenty-nine largest airports from 2000 to 2024: an operational infrastructure-conversion model, a tactical airline-response model, a two-stage network model accounting for flight delays and cancellations, and a socio-environmental network model incorporating pollutant emissions for the 2018–2023 window. Applying within-year Spearman rank correlations, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, and a percentile-based dissonance index evaluated via a double bootstrap that re-estimates the DEA frontiers within each replication, with airport and year fixed effects, we demonstrate that single-dimension rankings conceal fundamental operational trade-offs. While operational throughput and tactical airline responses exhibit close alignment (mean Spearman ρ = 0.85), correlation with social effectiveness drops to 0.55, and environmental agreement falls to 0.40. Furthermore, system concordance is highly state-dependent, collapsing from about 0.86 in pre-crisis years to 0.52–0.63 during 2020–2021, when regulatory clarity is most critical. Crucially, dimensional dissonance is associated with physical scale rather than with ownership structure; governance regimes fail to predict dissonance even under within-airport fixed effects, whereas large capacity-constrained hubs are associated with systematic penalties when operational delays and cancellations are priced. Ultimately, unidimensional benchmarking introduces predictable structural bias into performance assessment, which indicates that regulatory incentives and corporate benchmarking need multi-model architectures to capture hub saturation and regional network realities accurately.
Microplastic pollution has become pervasive across freshwater ecosystems worldwide, including the Amazon Basin, where increasing levels of plastic contamination have been reported. Despite growing evidence of microplastic (MP) ingestion in aquatic organisms, studies focusing on threatened species remain extremely scarce, particularly for estuarine elasmobranchs. Rays present high extinction risk among vertebrates and in majority are apex predators, which enhance direct interaction with MPs. The present study investigated, for the first time, MPs ingestion by threatened stingray species from the Amazon Estuary, assessing particles' occurrence and characteristics. Twelve individuals belonging to four elasmobranch species, incidentally caught by artisanal fisheries in Marajó Bay, were examined. Microplastics were detected in all specimens, totaling 181 particles. Fibers predominated (97%), followed by fragments (3%), with black (30.9%) and blue (30.4%) being the most frequent colors. Raman spectroscopy identified Polyester and Polyamide (Nylon) as the dominant polymers (25% each), followed by Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Polyurethane (16.7% each), a polymer composition consistent with the major anthropogenic plastic previously reported in the Amazon Basin. Although ingestion levels varied considerably among individuals and species, contamination was ubiquitous. This study provides the first record of microplastic occurrence for the stingray species investigated, expanding current knowledge of plastic exposure in threatened Amazonian elasmobranchs. By establishing a baseline for future monitoring, our findings support the incorporation of plastic pollution into conservation assessments of threatened freshwater and estuarine rays.
RESUMO Introdução: A doença renal crônica (DRC) está associada à disbiose intestinal, inflamação sistêmica e comprometimento da função da barreira intestinal. A zonulina sérica tem sido proposta como um marcador indireto da permeabilidade intestinal, embora sua relevância clínica na DRC permaneça incerta. Objetivo: Avaliar o efeito da suplementação com probióticos nos níveis séricos de zonulina em pacientes submetidos à hemodiálise de manutenção. Métodos: Ensaio clínico randomizado, controlado por placebo e triplo-cego, no qual 40 pacientes em hemodiálise foram designados para receber uma formulação probiótica ou placebo durante seis meses. O desfecho primário foi a diferença entre os grupos na alteração dos níveis séricos de zonulina do início ao acompanhamento. Os desfechos secundários incluíram variáveis metabólicas, antropométricas, hemodinâmicas e gastrointestinais. Resultados: Os níveis séricos de zonulina aumentaram em ambos os grupos, sem diferença significativa entre eles (placebo: 288,2 a 425,3 ng/mL; probiótico: 239,5 a 453,7 ng/mL; p = 0,882; ANCOVA p = 0,463). A ureia pré-diálise diminuiu no grupo probiótico, mas a diferença entre os grupos não foi significativa (p = 0,305). O fósforo sérico apresentou uma redução maior no grupo probiótico do que no grupo placebo (p = 0,011; ANCOVA p = 0,011). Não foram observadas diferenças significativas nos desfechos antropométricos ou hemodinâmicos. Conclusão: Seis meses de suplementação com probióticos não reduziram significativamente os níveis séricos de zonulina em pacientes em hemodiálise. Embora tenha sido observado um efeito favorável sobre o fósforo sérico, esses resultados não comprovam um impacto mensurável desse regime probiótico sobre a zonulina sérica, e sinalizam a necessidade de estudos maiores que incorporem avaliações diretas da permeabilidade intestinal e da microbiota intestinal.
Background Tuberculosis (TB) control in high-burden settings is complicated by the genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), which influences transmission. This study assessed the prevalence of mixed strain infections (MSIs) and microevolutionary events, analyzing their association with biosocial and clinical variables in Fortaleza, northeastern Brazil. Methods This prospective study included 168 patients with pulmonary TB from two referral hospitals serving socioeconomically vulnerable populations. Mtb isolates were subjected to drug resistance testing using Xpert MTB/RIF, MGIT 960, SIRE kit, and 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat typing. Genetic diversity was classified as MSI when multiple alleles were detected at two or more loci, or as a microevolutionary event when multiple alleles were detected at a single locus. Clinical and socioeconomic data were correlated with the genotypic profiles of the patients. Results Genetic diversity was observed in 10 isolates (6%), comprising three (1.75%) MSIs and seven microevolutionary events. Among the 10 patients with genetic diversity, the median age was 46 years, and illicit drug use was reported in this subgroup. All MSIs were rifampicin-sensitive; four of the seven cases with microevolution showed rifampicin resistance. Half of the patients with genetic diversity showed poor treatment outcomes in the form of death, failure, and loss of follow-up; comorbid conditions such as diabetes, syphilis, and previous TB were common in this subgroup. Conclusions The patterns of Mtb genetic diversity in this high-burden setting coexist with conditions of social vulnerability and complex disease presentations. These findings highlight the coexistence of Mtb genetic diversity with social and clinical vulnerability in this setting and support further investigation using larger cohorts and higher-resolution genomic approaches.
Abstract This paper aims to analyze the chemical and mechanical effects of the interaction between recycled plastics, derived from food packaging and bitumen, in order to assess the potential use of the plastics as a component of bituminous mixtures. The growing difficulty in recycling multilayer food-packaging residues, typically composed of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, cellulose, and aluminum, motivates the investigation of alternative high-volume reuse pathways such as asphalt applications. Chemical properties of plastics were assessed by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The interaction between bitumen and plastics was induced by mixing them at 150°C with different mixing speeds, durations, and proportions. Bitumen was then separated by sieving. The chemical and thermomechanical properties of bitumen before and after interaction with plastics were compared, considering the short-term aging effects caused by the mixing procedure. Chemical characterization was conducted by means of FTIR spectroscopy, while thermomechanical characterization was performed using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). TGA and DSC data suggest that the plastic is composed by a blend of different polymers and a residue of cardboard. From spectroscopic analysis, moderate variations in specific absorption bands were observed after mixing at 20% plastic content; however, these changes may be associated either with partial interaction phenomena or with finely dispersed inclusions passing through the sieve. The interaction between the two materials has effects on the thermomechanical properties of the bitumen, which presented similar characteristics as those observed in modified binders. In particular, at 20% plastic content and prolonged mixing, a reduction of the purely viscous (Newtonian flow) asymptote at high temperature was observed, together with variations in oxidation-related functional groups. The results indicate the potential use of the plastic as a material for asphalt mixtures.
