Algae are a sustainable source of healthy and functional lipids. The production of extracts suitable for food and nutraceutical industries requires food-grade solvents, which may have low lipid ...extraction yield and/or purity. This work aimed to assess the efficiency of biosolvents ethanol (E) and ethyl acetate (EA) in obtaining food-grade lipid ingredients from an algae blend, Fucus vesiculosus, Ulva sp., and Chlorella vulgaris, in comparison with the Folch method. Ultrasound (UAE) was assayed to enhance the biosolvent extraction. The results showed that the different extraction approaches can significantly influence the extraction yield, lipid purity, and lipid composition, including fatty acid (FA) content. EA and EA + UAE produced high lipid purity (>74%) extracts with high polyunsaturated FA (≤77.5%) and n-3 FA (≤74.4%) contents, despite the lower extraction yield. E + UAE may be used to obtain lipid-rich ingredients from algae blend (57%) and C. vulgaris (91%). All extracts showed anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study provides relevant information for the production of food-grade lipid ingredients from algae.
•E and EA were evaluated to produce food-grade lipid ingredients from algae.•UAE was assayed to improve extraction with food-grade biosolvents.•Extraction approaches can influence extraction yield, lipid purity and FA content.•High lipid purity extracts with great levels of PUFA were obtained by EA + UAE.•Utility and feasibility of extraction approaches must be investigated for each alga.
Cleft patients may develop an abnormal opening (fistula) between the oral and the nasal cavities. Surgical repair minimizes the adverse effect on speech and feeding. However, an obturator prosthesis ...is a nonsurgical approach to help close the communication. The purpose of the case report presented is to show the clinical use of an intraoral digital impression in the fabrication of obturator/speech aid appliances in children with cleft lip and palate deformity. Minimal adjustments were needed, and patients and caregivers responded positively. Prostheses demonstrated good stability and retention at delivery. The use of digital technology seems to have several benefits as an alternative method for capturing impressions, especially in young children with cleft lip and palate deformity.
A battery recycling plant located in an urbanized area contaminated the environment with lead oxides. The Secretary of Environment of the State of São Paulo demanded an evaluation of lead exposure ...among the population in the vicinity of the plant.
To assess the lead exposure of children, to propose control measures and evaluate the impact of these measures.
Cross-sectional study of all children<13 years old in a radius of 1
km from the plant responsible for the contamination. Blood lead levels (BLL) were determined for each child and questionnaires were applied to their parents. Mean BLL were compared before and after control measures were implemented. Logistic regression identified risk factors of lead exposure.
Of the 850 investigated children, 311 presented BLL above the action limit established by the World Health Organization. Overall, the median BLL was 7.3
μg/dL and it varied according to age of children (higher among 1–5 years old) and distance of the residence from the plant. Risk factors identified for BLL>10
μg/dL were: to live in unpaved areas, parent working in the plant, distance from the plant, to play on the ground, pica, and to drink locally produced milk. After control measures were implemented (closing the plant, soil removal, dust vacuum-cleaning in the households, etc.), a reduction of 46% in BLL was observed considering the 241 re-evaluated children with levels >10
μg/dL.
This study showed that combined abatement measures were effective in reducing BLL in children living close to a contaminating source. These results informed the decision-making process regarding management of contaminated areas in Brazil.
This article addresses the principal theoretical-methodological matrixes of the debate about territory, considering studies from the fields of geography and the social sciences that are commonly used ...as references for understanding the issue in its broad epistemological spectrum. It is a detailed bibliographic study that indicates some frontiers, traps and walls that are subjacent to the theme. Territory rises as a key element in public polices and thus in social service, as a socio-historic construction of globalized capital in crisis in a situation of destruction of social guarantees, as a panacea to capitalist development in economically dependent countries. The articles raises the trends of this debate and shows how it can be constituted as a fundamental mediation in the analysis of the processes and flows found in social transformations and their space-time dialectic. Beyond abstract-formal and post-modern definitions, it is important to locate the theme of territory at the foundation of the class struggle that expresses social life in movement.
The Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire is a self-report questionnaire that has proven to be a reliable and valid instrument. The objectives of this study were to validate the Portuguese version ...and to determine its capability to distinguish patients with dissociative disorders from others with psychopathological disorders.
234 patients answered the translated version of Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire. The Portuguese Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule was used to validate clinical diagnosis. Patients with dissociative disorder (n = 113) were compared to a control group of 121 patients with various anxiety and depression disorders.
Reliability measured by Cronbach's a was 0.88. The best performance of the Portuguese form was at a cut-off point of 35, which distinguishes between dissociative disorder and neurotic disorders with a good diagnostic efficacy (sensitivity = 0.73). The somatoform dissociation was significantly more frequent in dissociative disorder patients, conversion disorder patients and post-traumatic stress disorder patients.
These findings suggest that dissociative disorders can be differentiated from other psychiatric disorders through somatoform dissociation. The Portuguese version of the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire has fine psychometric features that sustain its cross-cultural validity.
Resumo O artigo aborda as principais matrizes teórico-metodológicas do debate sobre o território, considerando estudos da área da Geografia e das Ciências Sociais comumente citados como referenciais ...na compreensão do tema em seu amplo espectro epistemológico. Trata de um acurado estudo bibliográfico que aponta algumas fronteiras, armadilhas e muros subjacentes ao tema. O território (re)surge como tônica nas políticas públicas e consequentemente, no Serviço Social, como constructo sócio-histórico do capital mundializado em crise em uma conjuntura de derruição de garantias sociais, como panaceia ao desenvolvimento capitalista em países de economia dependente. Indica-se no percurso, as tendências deste debate e, ao mesmo tempo, mostra como este pode se constituir como mediação fundamental na análise dos processos e fluxos presentes nas transformações societárias e sua dialética espaço-tempo. Para além das definições abstrato-formais e pós-modernas, cabe situar o tema do território como chão da luta de classes que expressa a vida social em movimento.
Abstract This article addresses the principal theoretical-methodological matrixes of the debate about territory, considering studies from the fields of geography and the social sciences that are commonly used as references for understanding the issue in its broad epistemological spectrum. It is a detailed bibliographic study that indicates some frontiers, traps and walls that are subjacent to the theme. Territory rises as a key element in public polices and thus in social service, as a socio-historic construction of globalized capital in crisis in a situation of destruction of social guarantees, as a panacea to capitalist development in economically dependent countries. The articles raises the trends of this debate and shows how it can be constituted as a fundamental mediation in the analysis of the processes and flows found in social transformations and their space-time dialectic. Beyond abstract-formal and post-modern definitions, it is important to locate the theme of territory at the foundation of the class struggle that expresses social life in movement.
This study aims to assess cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels in post-menopausal women with FMS and correlate it with pain threshold and tolerance, depression and quality of ...life.
We conducted a cross sectional observational study of 17 women with FMS (FMS group), and 19 healthy volunteers (CT group). Algometry, the Beck Depression Index (BDI) and Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) were used. Blood samples were collected in the morning (8:00-9:30 am) to determine cortisol and DHEA-S plasmatic levels by chemiluminescence.
Significant differences between groups were recorded for pain threshold and tolerance (p< 0.0001), BDI (p< 0.0001) and all FIQ parameters (p< 0.0001). No significant differences in cortisol levels were found between the two groups (p=0.325). In the FMS group, a tangential effect was observed for DHEA-S (p=0.094) and positive correlations were found between DHEA-S, pain threshold (p=0.017) and pain tolerance (p=0.044). No correlation was observed between cortisol and DHEA-S levels and the variables of depression and quality of life for either group.
There seems to be an influence of the decreased levels of DHEA-S and increased pain sensitivity in post-menopausal women with FMS.
Photosynthesis in Ulva rigida, estimated by different methods ex situ and in situ, decreased under changing pH, nitrate and temperature conditions, demonstrating strong interactions between global ...climate factors.
Abstract
Short-term effects of pCO2 (700–380 ppm; High carbon (HC) and Low carbon (LC), respectively) and nitrate content (50–5 µM; High nitrogen (HN) and Low nitrogen (LN), respectively on photosynthesis were investigated in Ulva rigida (Chlorophyta) under solar radiation (in-situ) and in the laboratory under artificial light (ex-situ). After six days of incubation at ambient temperature (AT), algae were subjected to a 4 °C temperature increase (AT+4 °C) for 3 d. Both in-situ and ex-situ maximal electron transport rate (ETRmax) and in situ gross photosynthesis (GP), measured by O2 evolution, presented highest values under HCHN, and lowest under HCLN, across all measuring systems. Maximal quantum yield (Fv/Fm), and ETRmax of photosystem (PS) II ETR(II)max and PSI ETR(I)max, decreased under HCLN at AT+4 °C. Ex situ ETR was higher than in situ ETR. At noon, Fv/Fm decreased (indicating photoinhibition), whereas ETR(II)max and maximal non-photochemical quenching (NPQmax) increased. ETR(II)max decreased under AT+ 4 °C in contrast to Fv/Fm, photosynthetic efficiency (α ETR) and saturated irradiance (EK). Thus, U. rigida exhibited a decrease in photosynthesis under acidification, changing LN, and AT+4 °C. These results emphasize the importance of studying the interaction between environmental parameters using in-situ versus ex-situ conditions, when aiming to evaluate the impact of global change on marine macroalgae.
The fruits of Tamarindus indica L. are consumed worldwide, with various parts of the plant being used for medicinal purposes. The residues (pericarp and seeds) generated during cellulose processing ...are of significant value as they contain bioactive compounds with diverse biological activities. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical constituents of the ethyl acetate fraction as possible substitutes for synthetic compounds with biological properties using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) analysis and the evaluation of the antioxidant activity (ferric reducing antioxidant power FRAP, 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid ABTS, and 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl DPPH), total phenolic compounds (TPC), and antimicrobial activity of the hydroalcoholic extract and tamarind seed fractions were also performed. The chemical investigation of the acetate fraction using UHPLC-HRMS/MS resulted in the putative identification of 14 compounds, including flavonoids, (+)-catechin/(-)-epicatechin, procyanidin B2, procyanidin C2, isoquercetin, quercetin, luteolin, rutin, taxifolin, eriodictyol, kaempferide, hydroxybenzoic acid, protocathecuic acid, and protocathecuic acid methyl and ethyl esters derivatives. The crude hydroalcoholic extract exhibited the best results in terms of TPC: 883.87 gallic acid equivalent (GAE; mg/g) and antioxidant activity: FRAP: 183.29 GAE (mg/g), ABTS: 39.67%, and DPPH: 91.08%. The extract exhibited excellent antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus aureus minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC)/minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC; 62.5/125 g/mL) and Bacillus cereus MIC/MBC (125/250 g/mL), and gram-negative bacteria, specifically Aeromonas hydrophila MIC/MBC (125/250 µg/mL) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa MIC/MBC (250/500 g/mL). Morphological damage to cells was observed using flow cytometry and scanning electron microscopy. Tamarind seeds contain unique bioactive compounds that should be explored for their use as novel food preservatives. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Original data were obtained regarding the Tamarindus indica L. seed extract and the ethyl acetate and hexane fractions. This research aimed to investigate the potential of these for food preservation and as alternatives to additives and synthetic compounds added to cattle feed. This paper reports novel findings regarding the chemical composition of the extract and its antioxidant activity, along with its antimicrobial activity against bacteria (gram-positive: Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and gram-negative: Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Aeromonas hydrophila) and yeasts (Candida albicans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae).
Device‐related pressure injury (DRPI) is a serious problem that is affecting professionals working on the front lines against COVID‐19 due to the prolonged use of personal protective equipment (PPE). ...In addition to the physical and psychological integrity of professionals, these injuries can compromise the quality of care. Therefore, using technologies to prevent this adverse effect is an urgent matter. This is a parallel two‐arm randomized clinical trial without the use of a control group to compare the use of foam and extra‐thin hydrocolloid in preventing DRPI associated with the use of PPE by health professionals working on the front lines against coronavirus. In total, 88 professionals were divided into two groups: foam and hydrocolloid. Data were collected using two instruments and related to demographic and professional characteristics and skin evaluation. Each volunteer received one of the dressings, both with the same dimensions and arranged over similar regions, and data were gathered at baseline and after 6 or 12 hours. Descriptive and inferential analytic statistical methods were used; the significance level adopted was 5%. No participant developed DRPI, but four areas with hyperemia were observed in the foam group (two in the forehead, one in the cheeks, and one in the nose bridge), as well as four areas with hyperemia in the hydrocolloid group (two in the nose bridge, one in the right ear, and one in the left ear). There was no difference between the groups regarding skin conditions and discomfort (P > .05). The average cost obtained was $ 5.8/person and $ 4.4/person in the foam group and the hydrocolloid group, respectively, considering the dressing measurements. The results show that foam and extra‐thin hydrocolloid were effective in preventing DRPI associated with the use of PPE.
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