Hematological problems are associated with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Respiratory impairment is the higher point studied, although without experimental studies related to the oxygen transport performed by erythrocytes. Therefore, we decided to investigate if erythrocytes from COVID-19 patients have their functionality changed. The case-control study included hospitalized patients with a positive real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) result admitted to University Hospital. Volunteers (negative RT-PCR results) were recruited as a control group. Thus, we assessed different erythrocytes parameters, oxidative stress markers, and biophysical studies using whole blood and isolated hemoglobin. We found a decrease of 51% in oxygen uptake and reduced antioxidant enzyme activity in COVID-19 patients compared to controls. Raman spectrometry showed structural changes in the hemoglobin and lipids of the erythrocytes from COVID-19 patients; thus, these results were consolidated with an increase in Young’s modulus in erythrocytes followed by morphology changes. Besides, isolated hemoglobin from COVID-19 patients has a distinct interaction profile using a ligand model compared to the control. COVID-19 leads to structural, functional, and morphological damage to human erythrocytes. Our data showed structural and molecular changes and induction of oxidative stress in erythrocytes by COVID-19, a new perspective on the contribution of erythrocytes to a respiratory commitment in COVID-19.

Alkaline extractions from humic material are used to risk assessment in soils. However, there are questions about the type of extraction most suitable for this evaluation. Thus, this work evaluated different soil extractions in search of realistic environmental conditions (simulated rain). The parameters obtained revealed significant differences between the levels and structural characteristics of organic matter, depending on the extractant used, reinforcing the importance of developing methodologies and analytical procedures that minimize structural changes and may be more representative of the molecular structures of organic matter found in soils. The results showed that the material extracted by simulated rain is similar to the fulvic acids of the soil organic matter extracted by alkaline extraction showing the importance of this type of extraction for risk assessment studies in soils.

Neste trabalho otimizamos o valor de reator de neutro para conseguir minimizar a corrente de arco secundário em sistemas de transmissão com compensação reativa em derivação. Através de uma análise de sensibilidade conseguimos identificar valores de reator de neutro para os quais se consegue uma alta probabilidade de auto-extinção da corrente de arco secundário para diferentes sistemas de transmissão visando assegurar uma manobra abertura/religamento monopolar com sucesso. O método para identificar o reator de neutro ótimo e os valores das correntes de arco secundário para linhas típicas do sistema brasileiro é apresentado.

Inthis workwe optimize the neutral reactorvalue in orderto minimize the secondary arc current in transmission systems with shunt reactive compensation. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify neutral reactor values that will promote high probability of self-extinction the secondary arc current in different transmission systems to ensure a success single-phase opening/reclosure maneuver. The method is presented to identify the optimum neutral reactor and also values of the secondary arc current for typical lines of Brazilian system.