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DETECTION OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS (EBV) IN WOMEN WITH BREAST CANCER IN IRAQ USING IN-SITU HYBRIDIZATION AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL TECHNIQUES

Background: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has recently been identified in human breast cancer globally, potentially contributing to the initiation and progression of this malignancy, as well as gastric cancer, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and bladder cancer. It has been newly associated with breast cancer. Globally, breast cancer affects more women than any other type of cancer. In Iraq, the prevalence of breast cancer is comparable. Aims: The study examined Iraqi women diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) to detect Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen-1 (EBNA-1) and encoded RNA (EBER). Methods: A total of 50 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) (92%) and invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) (8%) biopsy samples constituted the case group, while 30 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from non-cancerous breast tissue served as the control group. The presence of Epstein-Barr virus protein (EBER) in breast tissue was assessed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) methods. Results: EBER RNA signals were found in 31 (62%). EBER RNA signals were seen in 3 (10%) control group participants. Significant differences (P<0.04) were seen in EBV EBER RNA positive signals among study groups. Immunohistochemistry showed nuclear brown staining in 34 (68%) breast cancer patients. Control group: 3 (10%). Discussion: The research identified a statistically significant correlation between EBV positivity and breast cancer among Iraqi women, especially concerning invasive ductal carcinoma. The results corroborate previous reports of elevated EBV levels in malignant breast tissues relative to controls. Although detection approaches such as CISH and IHC provide complementary insights, additional studies are needed. Conclusions: The study concludes that EBNA-1 and EBV EBER RNA were overexpressed in our population group.
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THE REVOLUTION IN AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY: PETROLEUM-BASED DYES AND THE CHRONIC DISEASE EPIDEMIC

Background: The American food regulatory landscape has historically been influenced by industry interests, resulting in the widespread use of petroleum-derived synthetic food dyes banned in European countries. Chronic disease rates in American children have increased from 3% in the 1960s to approximately 60% currently, with annual healthcare costs reaching $1 trillion. The appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services marks a paradigmatic shift toward transparency and industry accountability in food safety regulation. Aim: This forum analysis examines Kennedy Jr.'s revolutionary approach to food safety regulation, particularly his confrontational stance against petroleum-based food additives exemplified by his statement, "if they want to eat petroleum, they should add it themselves at home" and evaluates the broader implications for American public health policy and global regulatory standards. Methods: Critical analysis of Kennedy Jr.'s public policy statements, examination of epidemiological data trends, and evaluation of proposed regulatory frameworks through content analysis of official speeches and policy declarations from the Department of Health and Human Services. Results: Kennedy Jr.'s administration targets the systematic elimination of synthetic food dyes through industry partnerships, scientific transparency initiatives, and restoration of rigorous research standards. His confrontational rhetorical approach, compared to Mike Tyson's boxing style, has generated unprecedented industry cooperation with food companies "calling almost daily" seeking compliance guidance. The strategy combines voluntary industry agreements with open-source information databases and enhanced FOIA access. Discussion: This confrontational rhetoric represents unprecedented directness in health policy communication, challenging decades of established regulatory practices. The approach prioritizes scientific transparency over diplomatic language, generating both media attention and voluntary industry engagement that traditional regulatory pressure failed to achieve. Conclusions: Kennedy Jr.'s revolutionary stance may establish new global standards for food additive oversight, prioritizing public health over commercial interests through evidence-based policymaking and industry accountability measures. This paradigm shift from reactive to preventive regulatory models could influence international food safety governance and restore American leadership in global health policy.
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FROM AIR FORCE TO HYPERSONIC FUTURE: ÉLCIO GERÔNIMO DE OLIVEIRA'S JOURNEY IN BRAZILIAN AEROSPACE DEVELOPMENT (ENGLISH VERSION)

Introdução: A entrevista com Élcio Gerônimo de Oliveira, conduzida pelo repórter Luis, apresenta a trajetória profissional de um pesquisador brasileiro com experiência na Força Aérea Brasileira e no meio acadêmico, com foco em sistemas espaciais e veículos hipersônicos. Objetivos: Documentar a carreira e contribuições de Élcio para o desenvolvimento aeroespacial brasileiro, destacando sua transição da carreira militar para a acadêmica e sua participação em projetos estratégicos, especialmente o projeto 14X. Métodos: A entrevista foi estruturada em blocos temáticos, abordando a carreira militar, a experiência acadêmica e, com maior detalhamento, o envolvimento no projeto do veículo hipersônico 14X. Foram realizadas perguntas abertas, permitindo ao entrevistado compartilhar sua experiência e conhecimento técnico. Resultados: Élcio descreveu sua progressão na Força Aérea Brasileira, desde pesquisador até vice-chefe da Diretoria de Espaço, destacando o desenvolvimento de veículos lançadores, sistemas de navegação inercial e o projeto SARA. Relatou sua transição para a carreira acadêmica, incluindo sua experiência como professor na Universidade de Luleå, na Suécia. Élcio detalhou sua coordenação no projeto 14X, um veículo hipersônico que alcançou Mach 7, com perspectivas de atingir Mach 10. Discussão: A entrevista revela a importância da cooperação internacional e da transferência de tecnologia, exemplificada pela doação do primeiro laboratório de hipersônica do Brasil. Evidencia também os desafios técnicos na construção de veículos hipersônicos e o potencial dessas tecnologias para aplicações militares e civis. Conclusão: A carreira de Élcio Gerônimo de Oliveira exemplifica a contribuição brasileira para pesquisa aeroespacial avançada, demonstrando a capacidade nacional de desenvolver tecnologias estratégicas como veículos hipersônicos, apesar das limitações de recursos, e apontando possibilidades futuras para o transporte e exploração espacial.
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General information

SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

    General information about this journal
  • Title: SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES
  • Short Title: South. J. Sci.
  • ISSN: 2764-5959 (Online); ISSN: 2764-5967 (Print)
  • Universal Decimal Classification (UDC): 001
  • Review Process: Double-Blind Peer-Review
  • Accessibility: Platinum Open Access, NO-APCs.
  • Digital preservation: Portico
  • Frequency of Publication: biannual [2 issues per year]. Journal publication schedule
  • DOI: 10.48141/2764-5959
  • Website: https://www.sjofsciences.com/
  • Country: BRAZIL
  • Publisher: Araucária - Scientific Association.
  • Language of Publication: ENGLISH / PORTUGUESE*
  • *Year that the Journal started accepting manuscripts in Portuguese: 2020
  • First issue year: 1993
  • Free full text: Yes
  • Indexed in: Index Copernicus; Latindex, and I2OR.
  • Formerly known as the Southern Brazilian Journal of Chemistry (1993 to 2021).
  • Former ISSN: 2674-6891 (Online); Former ISSN: 0104-5431 (Print).
  • Website last update: 06/07/2025.

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ANALYTICAL METHODS FOR METHANOL DETECTION IN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF CLASSICAL, COLORIMETRIC, AND CHROMATOGRAPHIC APPROACHES

Introduction: The detection of methanol in alcoholic beverages represents a critical public health issue, particularly in light of the recent outbreak of poisonings in Brazil, which registered 58 confirmed cases and 15 deaths through October 2025. Methanol's toxicity, with an estimated lethal dose ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 g/kg, requires reliable analytical methods for health surveillance. Brazilian legislation establishes a maximum limit of 20 mg/100 mL of anhydrous alcohol; however, the need for accessible screening methods in field settings remains an important challenge. Objective: To critically compare three analytical methods for methanol determination: classical qualitative methods (Lucas Test and dichromate/Schiff), Brazilian colorimetric method, and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID), evaluating their performance and applicability in resource-limited contexts. Methods: Theoretical-comparative approach through critical analysis of specialized literature and normative technical documentation. Methods were evaluated according to: operational principle, sensitivity (LOD/LOQ), selectivity, operational complexity, analysis time, and practical applicability. Results: The Lucas Test is not applicable for methanol detection. Colorimetric methods showed moderate sensitivity (LOD ~20-160 mg/100 mL), a 10-30-minute execution time, low operational complexity, and excellent portability. The Brazilian method presented chemical equivalence with international standards, differing only in the type of reading performed. GC-FID has shown superior sensitivity (LOD ≤ 1 mg/100 mL) and high specificity, but it requires extended time (~45-60 minutes), complex laboratory infrastructure, and specialized operators. Sugars interfere with colorimetric methods. Conclusions: The methods are complementary within a hierarchical system. Colorimetric methods enable rapid field screening, while GC-FID serves as the confirmatory method for forensic analyses. We recommend implementing integrated protocols that combine in situ colorimetric screening with GC-FID confirmation in accredited laboratories for effective health surveillance.
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INQUIRY FOR SUITABLE LOCATIONS FOR A DRILLING REGIME AT AN UPSLOPE ROCKY KNOLL OF LAWU ESTATE, WESTERN BYPASS, MINNA, NIGERIA

Background: A client requested that the study group help determine suitable locations for a drilling regime on his lot, located on an upslope rocky knoll in Lawu Estate, Minna, Nigeria. There is no luxury of conducting an unimpeded wide-area survey for this housing Estate, as it is built up almost entirely. Therefore, the constrained area to be surveyed necessitated the adoption of the "electrical drilling," or vertical electrical sounding, mode of the geoelectrical method to satisfy the client's inquiry. Aim: To carry out a purpose-specific survey to pinpoint the best location in a built-up property at the upmarket Lawu Estate that would be suitable for a drilling regime targeted for household consumption. The specific objectives are to determine the subsurface layer structure, to identify fracture zones with potential for water accumulation, and to estimate the depths of potential aquifers. Methods: The survey crew reconnoitered the study area to georeference locations for the VES survey within the 30 m x 20 m lot. Owing to the extensive build-up at this lot, only a four-point traverse along the 30-metric dimension of the building's frontage was demarcated in the northeasterly direction, thereby limiting the survey crew's desire to define an appropriate survey grid. The VES data acquisition followed the "traditional" sequence of Schlumberger array layout measurements, in which the current and potential probes are maintained at the same relative spacing and the whole spread is progressively expanded about a fixed central point. Results: Log-log and pseudosection plots were generated from the acquired data, from which the conventional three-layer structure is deciphered, with a desired 193 Ωm for VES Station 4 at the third layer. Discussion: The acquired and processed data for this study were subjected to a suite of empirical rules-of-thumb procedures for interpreting VES data in the Nigerian Basement Complex geological province, with VES Station 4 showing the most encouraging 100% result. Conclusion: Drilling to a depth of 100 m at Station 4 is recommended based on the identified fractured basement at this depth.
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STATISTICAL VALIDATION OF TRIPLE COLOCALIZATION ANALYSIS

Background: in the last decades, colocalization analysis of fluorescently tagged biomolecules has proven to be a powerful approach to studying functional relationships between these biomolecules. However, in many cases, to give this analysis a biological meaning, colocalization coefficients must be tested statistically, comparing them with the colocalization expected by chance. Aim: It addressed the statistical significance of triple colocalization to distinguish real triple colocalization and classify different triple signal scenarios. Methods: we use biological and generated images of triple signal scenarios to contrast seven independent statistical facts with independent statistical tests. Three of these tests correspond to pairwise relationships (double scrambling tests), and the others correspond to triple relationships: single scrambling tests (red, green, and blue scrambling) and the triple scrambling test. The analysis and methodology proposed can be reproduced using the application developed in our laboratory. Results: In the study approach, we found true triple relationships ignored by using traditional methods of computing the statistical significance, while we could reinterpret cases of not significant triple colocalization wrongly considered as significant by traditional methods. Discussion: single scrambling tests can reveal significant triple colocalization for low levels of triple co-occurrence, even when all pairwise relationships were exclusion relationships. Moreover, on the other hand, single scrambling tests can reveal the absence of a significant triple colocalization for high levels of triple co-occurrence, even when all pairwise relationships were significant colocalization. Conclusion: all scrambling tests are useful to classify a specific scenario of a triple relationship. Dynamics like mitosis can be distinguished into their phases by triple signal relationships using these 7 independent statistical tests.
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SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

The SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES publishes articles in Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Biology, Pharmacy, Medicine, Engineering, Industrial Science, Agriculture, and related interdisciplinary areas and is intended to fill a gap in terms of scientific information worldwide. All manuscripts can be published either in English or Portuguese, with tile, abstracts, and keywords in English. At present, there are NO PUBLICATION FEES. Editors will cover web hosting, open access, DOI number, and other service costs.

We have set high standards for the articles to be published by ensuring strong but fair refereeing by at least two reviewers. We hope that this Journal will provide a forum for disseminating high-quality research in chemistry and related areas and are open to any questions and suggestions. Starting in 2020, the SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES will have two issues per year (June and December).

Thank you very much for choosing the SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES to publish your paper!
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