Cat and dog feed production has increased worldwide, and much emphasis has been placed on the importance of determining the mineral composition of pet foods. In this work, the concentrations of Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Sr, V and Zn in dry feed for cats and dogs employing inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES) were determined and evaluated according to regulatory agencies. Forty-one dry feed samples (24 dog feed and 17 cat feed) were analyzed. The obtained concentrations ranged from 2.3 mg kg-1 (Ba) to 2.8 g kg-1 (Ca) in cat feeds, and from 3.8 mg kg-1 (Cu) to 3.4 g kg-1 (Ca) in dog feeds. The concentrations of P are in accordance with the Brazilian legislation, and Mn and Zn contents met the American legislation. The concentration values of Cu, K and Mg presented in some samples were below the limits established by American regulatory agency. Based on multivariate data analysis evaluated from flavors of the products and brands, it was concluded that the feed samples were uniform since there was no trend to group formation and classification according to their mineral composition, except one dog feed brand, which had a significant content of Al and Cu.

As distribuições de Al, Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb e Zn foram investigadas em dois sítios de sedimentos do reservatório Macela, Nordeste do Brasil. A análise de componentes principais (PCA) separou nitidamente os sítios de sedimentos coletados e as suas diferentes seções. Cu, Cr, Mn e Zn apresentaram as maiores concentrações nas seções do topo (0-20 cm) e mostraram correlações significativas com o conteúdo de carbono orgânico total (Corg). As concentrações de Co, Pb e Ni foram maiores nas seções do fundo (25-45 cm) e mostraram fortes correlações com alumínio. Cu, Cr, Mn e Zn foram provenientes do aporte antropogênico, enquanto que Co, Ni e Pb foram de origem natural. As toxicidades avaliadas com base nos valores do nível limiar de efeitos (TEL) e nível provável de efeitos (PEL) listados no Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG) canadense mostraram que Cu, Pb e Zn raramente exercem efeitos adversos aos organismos, enquanto que para o Ni, esses efeitos biológicos ocorrem frequentemente à biota do reservatório. A toxicidade do Cr foi incerta.

The distributions of Al, Cu, Co, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were measured in two sediment cores obtained from the Macela Reservoir in Northeast Brazil. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separated both the cores and the sections corresponding to different depths. The concentrations of Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn were highest in the upper sections (0-20 cm), and were significantly correlated with the total organic carbon (Corg) content. The concentrations of Co, Pb and Ni were highest in the lower sections (25-45 cm), and showed strong correlations with aluminum. Cu, Cr, Mn and Zn were derived from anthropogenic sources, while Co, Ni and Pb were of natural origin. Toxicity assessment based on the threshold effect level (TEL) and probable effect level (PEL) values listed in the Canadian Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQG) showed that Cu, Pb and Zn rarely cause any adverse effects, while Ni was likely to cause frequent effects in the biota of the reservoir. The toxicity of Cr was uncertain.

As distribuições de Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe e Al foram investigadas em sedimentos superficiais coletados em 19 sítios da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Sergipe, Nordeste do Brasil. Foi definida uma base geoquímica para a região (RGB) usando o ferro como elemento de referência. Fatores de enriquecimento (EF) e índice de geoacumulação (Igeo) foram empregados para determinar a contribuição por origem antropogênica. Valores de EF mostraram que os sedimentos dos sítios 1, 5 e 13 podem ser considerados contaminados por Pb, Cr e Cu, respectivamente. Valores de Igeo mostraram que o sítio 13 pode ser considerado contaminado. Há uma grande predominância nos sedimentos de metais de origem natural. A possível toxicidade foi avaliada comparando com os valores PEC-TEC dos guias de qualidade de sedimentos (SQG). Análise de componentes principais (PCA) separou claramente os pontos em dois grupos e a análise de agrupamento hierárquico (HCA) confirmou as interpretações feitas pela PCA.

The distributions of Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Fe and Al were investigated in surface sediments collected at 19 sites in the Sergipe River Hydrographic Basin of Northeast Brazil. A regional geochemical baseline (RGB) was defined using iron as a reference element. Enrichment factors (EF) and geoaccumulation indices (Igeo) were used to determine the extent of anthropogenic metal pollution. EF values showed that sediments from sites 1, 5 and 13 could be considered contaminated by Pb, Cr and Cu, respectively. Igeo values showed that only site 13 could be considered contaminated. For other sites, results indicated that naturally occurring metals predominated in the sediments. Possible toxicity related to these metals was examined using the comparing sediment chemical data with sediment quality guidelines (SQG) PEC-TEC values. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly separated the sites into two groups and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) confirmed the interpretations made from the PCA results.