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Elementos majoritários, minoritários e traço em vinhos provenientes de países produtores na América do Sul (Argentina, Brasil, Chile e Uruguai) foram determinados. A espectrometria de emissão óptica com plasma indutivamente acoplado (ICP OES) e a espectrometria de massa com plasma indutivamente acoplado (ICP-MS) em conjunto com nebulização pneumática e/ou nebulização ultra-sônica foram utilizadas. Foram determinados 45 elementos (Al, Ag, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Gd, Ho, K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sn, Se, Sm, Sr, Tb, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, V, Yb e Zn) em 53 vinhos tintos. Mediante análise multivariada, os vinhos puderam ser discriminados de acordo com o país de origem, independentemente do tipo da uva. Os elementos discriminantes foram Tl, U, Li, Rb e Mg.Major, minor and trace elements in wines from wine-producing countries in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay) were determined. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) combined with pneumatic and/or ultrasonic nebulization were used. The concentrations of 45 elements (Al, Ag, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Gd, Ho, K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, Ni, P, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sn, Se, Sm, Sr, Tb, Ti, Tl, Tm, U, V, Yb, and Zn) in 53 red wines were determined. By means of multivariate analysis, the wines could be discriminated according to the country of origin, regardless of the type of grape. The discriminant elements were Tl, U, Li, Rb, and Mg. Keywords: red wine provenance, multivariate analysis, element concentration, ICP OES, ICP-MS IntroductionWine has a long history dating back to biblical times. With the evolution of the viticulture, a wide sort of wines became available to consumers due to the varieties of grape grown and different methods of wine producing.Several elements (especially Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Sn and Zn) when present in excessively high concentration in wines, adversely affect the organoleptic quality and the stability of the wine. They may cause a metallic taste, undesired color change or give rise to obstinate hazing and cloudiness. 1 The concentration of some elements can be a sort of fingerprint of the wine. The element profile does not depend exclusively on the geochemistry of the provenance soil but is affected by the winemaking process and the grape variety. Identifying the origin of wine is of great interest to producers and consumers, as it provides criteria for deciding about the quality of wine. Therefore, a method for verifying authenticity is an essential requirement to control the product origin claims.Studies have shown that the concentration profile of elements can be used to identify the provenance of a wine as well as its authenticity.2-6 Lanthanides have been suggested as a fingerprint for the provenance of wines.2,4 However, caution must be taken because contamination may occur at the production step, transport and storage, as well as by inadequate winemak...

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Studies have shown the importance of including the user's experience in measuring the usability of medical devices. Still, the user's assessment depends on the context of use for the treatment received. To measure the usability in such a way as to separate these effects and understand the sources affecting users' perceptions, the article proposes an analytical strategy that assesses the effect of the context of use on measuring the device's usability. Next, we create indicators that are free of these effects to understand the overall assessment of the device. Multivariate analysis of variance and exploratory factor analysis are used to achieve the objectives. The study is illustrated by means of a survey of 200 hemodialysis patients in hospitals and clinics in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The results suggest that assessment of the medical device differs (p < 0.05) according to the setting, fistula site, and patient's sex, age, and schooling. The setting influenced the most variables, including the degree of trust in the procedures. Three indicators were created: procedures, treatment setting, and device characteristics. The indicators allowed assessing which equipment brands, types of procedures, and treatment settings provide the best results. The method can be replicated in the assessment of medical devices, training health administrators, and assessing usability through summary indicators, besides identifying aspects to improve usability in medical treatment.

Over the past few years, the fish embryo test (FET) has become widely accepted as an animal-friendly protocol for ecotoxicological research. As Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 236, the FET has been widely applied for simple mixture exposures under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals regulation of the European Union; and now its use is spreading worldwide as a supposedly reliable whole-effluent test (i.e., the testing of complex mixture exposures). However, comparative peer-reviewed data regarding the FET's efficiency for whole-effluent tests are virtually nonexistent. The primary objective of the present study was to make the first comparative test between the FET according to OECD 236 and other standard and slightly modified standard fish protocols used worldwide for whole-effluent tests. For that, we used an untreated hospital effluent considered to be highly toxic but disposed of in municipal sewerage. The base methods were OECD 203 (juvenile), US Environmental Protection Agency method 2000.0 (larvae), and OECD 236 (embryo). We also evaluated the addition of 3 virtually costless sublethal metrics (immobility, nonhatching, and pericardial edema) that could enhance the sensitivity of OECD 236. We observed acute toxicity in all 8 methodologies tested, with a clear escalation in sensitivity (larvae > juvenile ≥ embryo). Larvae were the most sensitive life stage for whole-effluent tests. The addition of sublethal metrics to OECD 236 enhanced its previous sensitivity in over 30%. Thus we conclude that OECD 236 acts below its potential and that the embryonic stage (as used in the FET) may not be the most sensitive life stage for whole-effluent tests. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2925-2932. © 2018 SETAC.