THE POTENTIAL OF NEAR INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY AS A METHOD OF DETERMINATION OF THE FAT CONTENT IN

Yogurt is a food product produced by fresh milk as the raw material which is easier to digest and assimilate than fresh milk. Today, it is a very popular food product and is marketed worldwide.Consequently, is important to know its chemical composition. On the other hand, the use of near-infrared technologies is increasing in the last years as it is a fast and easy technique.Nevertheless, studies about its use in yogurts are limited. 141 samples of yogurt were analysed by NIRS. The whole experiment was carried out at 20ºC. 75% of the samples were used for calibration set and the rest were used for validating this model. A NIR Luminar 5030 Miniature “Hand-held” with a spectral range of 1100-2300 nm was used to obtain the spectra, with a sampling interval of 2 nm. The software used for analysis was The Unscrambler. The predictive models were established by using partial least squares (PLS). The information that is used to predict the composition and quantities of the samples is contained into the spectral curves. The pivotal step for spectroscopy technique is to extract quantitative data from them. In this study, PLS algorithm was used to achieve this purpose. 87 samples were chosen as a calibration sample cluster, and PLS mathematic model was built by using NIR-spectroscopy and fat content of each sample (Fig.1). The correlation coefficient between spectral data and fat content of yogurt was 0.965, the standard error of calibration (SEC) was 0.587, and the standard error of prediction (SEP) was 0.642. The fat content of another 33 samples was predicted by a mathematical model (Fig.2). The correlation coefficient of linear regression between predicted and measured values shows a reasonable to excellent prediction performance of 0.929. In conclusion, the results indicated that NIRS could quantitatively analyze fat content of yogurt in a fast and non-destructive way

Twist Deformations of the Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics

The N-extended Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics is deformed via an abelian twist which preserves the super-Hopf algebra structure of its Universal Enveloping Superalgebra. Two constructions are possible. For even N one can identify the 1D N-extended superalgebra with the fermionic Heisenberg algebra. Alternatively, supersymmetry generators can be realized as operators belonging to the Universal Enveloping Superalgebra of one bosonic and several fermionic oscillators. The deformed system is described in terms of twisted operators satisfying twist-deformed (anti)commutators. The main differences between an abelian twist defined in terms of fermionic operators and an abelian twist defined in terms of bosonic operators are discussed.Comment: 18 pages; two references adde

COMPARAÇÃO DA EFICACIA DO ÍNDICE HACK COM O GRAU DE DETALHAMENTO DA DRENAGEM

O índice Hack de Relação Declividade Extensão é uma ferramenta útil para obtenção de evidências tectonoestruturais. Neste trabalho utilizamos imagens de alta resolução SPOT 2.5x2.5m para vetorização dos canais de drenagem para realização dos cálculos. Estes foram comparados com dados obtidos em trabalho anterior para os canais da mesma bacia em resolução mais baixa de modelos SRTM 90x90m. O que permitiu observar que quanto maior a resolução melhores são os resultados de anomalias positivas

Actividad física y salud percibida en pacientes con enfermedad coronaria

La enfermedad coronaria es una de las principales causas de morbilidad y mortalidad en el mundo y se asocia con importantes consecuencias emocionales y sociales. La actividad física parece ralentizar el inicio y la progresión de las enfermedades cardiovasculares pero también presenta beneficios sobre la salud psicosocial. El presente estudio tiene como objetivo el análisis de la relación entre la práctica de actividad física y la calidad de vida, el bienestar psicológico y la depresión en pacientes con enfermedad coronaria. La muestra estaba compuesta por 275 personas, con edades entre 54 a 98 años. Se aplicó un Cuestionario Sociodemográfico, el Cuestionario de Salud SF-36, la Escala de Depresión Geriátrica (GDS), la Escala de Bienestar Psicológico (EBP) y el Cuestionario de Actividad Física de Yale (YPAS). Los resultados obtenidos pusieron de manifiesto que la práctica de actividad física se asociaba en pacientes con enfermedad coronaria a una mejora en las distintas escalas del Cuestionario de Salud SF-36 y en la Escala de Depresión Geriátrica, confirmando su importancia para el mantenimiento de la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud en estos pacientes

Muscle mass to visceral fat ratio is an important predictor of the metabolic syndrome in college students

This study aimed to evaluate the associations between the muscle mass to visceral fat (MVF) ratio and cardiometabolic risk factors in a large population of college students in Colombia and to propose cut-off points of this index for the metabolic syndrome (MetS). A total of 1464 young adults recruited from the FUPRECOL (Asociación de la Fuerza Prensil con Manifestaciones Tempranas de Riesgo Cardiovascular en Jóvenes y Adultos Colombianos) study were categorised into four groups based on their MVF ratio. Muscle mass and visceral fat level of the participants were measured using a bioelectrical impedance analysis. Cardiometabolic risk factors including lifestyle characteristics, anthropometry, blood pressure and biochemical parameters were assessed. The prevalence of moderate to severe obesity, hypertension and the MetS was higher in subjects in quartile (Q)1 (lower MVF ratio) (P less than 0·001). ANCOVA revealed that the subjects in Q1 had higher cardiometabolic disturbances, including altered anthropometry, blood pressure, muscle strength and biochemical parameters after adjusting for age and sex compared with young adults in higher MVF ratio quartiles (P less than 0·001). Muscular mass and physical activity levels were significantly lower in subjects with a lower MVF ratio (P less than 0·001). The receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that in men the best MVF ratio cut-off point for detecting the MetS was 18·0 (AUC 0·83, sensitivity 78 % and specificity 77 %) and for women, the MVF ratio cut-off point was 13·7 (AUC 0·85, sensitivity 76 % and specificity 87 %). A lower MVF ratio is associated with a higher risk cardiometabolic profile in early adulthood, supporting that the MVF ratio could be used as a complementary screening tool that may help clinicians identify young adults at high cardiometabolic risk. © The Authors 2018

FGFR1 and PROKR2 rare variants found in patients with combined pituitary hormone deficiencies.

The genetic aetiology of congenital hypopituitarism (CH) is not entirely elucidated. FGFR1 and PROKR2 loss-of-function mutations are classically involved in hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH), however, due to the clinical and genetic overlap of HH and CH; these genes may also be involved in the pathogenesis of CH. Using a candidate gene approach, we screened 156 Brazilian patients with combined pituitary hormone deficiencies (CPHD) for loss-of-function mutations in FGFR1 and PROKR2. We identified three FGFR1 variants (p.Arg448Trp, p.Ser107Leu and p.Pro772Ser) in four unrelated patients (two males) and two PROKR2 variants (p.Arg85Cys and p.Arg248Glu) in two unrelated female patients. Five of the six patients harbouring the variants had a first-degree relative that was an unaffected carrier of it. Results of functional studies indicated that the new FGFR1 variant p.Arg448Trp is a loss-of-function variant, while p.Ser107Leu and p.Pro772Ser present signalling activity similar to the wild-type form. Regarding PROKR2 variants, results from previous functional studies indicated that p.Arg85Cys moderately compromises receptor signalling through both MAPK and Ca(2) (+) pathways while p.Arg248Glu decreases calcium mobilization but has normal MAPK activity. The presence of loss-of-function variants of FGFR1 and PROKR2 in our patients with CPHD is indicative of an adjuvant and/or modifier effect of these rare variants on the phenotype. The presence of the same variants in unaffected relatives implies that they cannot solely cause the phenotype. Other associated genetic and/or environmental modifiers may play a role in the aetiology of this condition

Surface enhanced Raman scattering using metal modified microstructured optical fibre substrates

We report the fabrication of metallic metamaterials using microstructured optical fibres as templates. The resulting fibres serve as excellent substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and represent an exciting platform for in-fibre plasmonic devices

Impact of a Tutored Theoretical-Practical Training to Develop Undergraduate Students’ Skills for the Detection of Caries Lesions: Study Protocol for a Multicenter Controlled Randomized Study

Background: Tutored laboratorial activities could be a manner of improving the competency development of students. However, its impact over conventional theoretical classes has not yet been tested. Additionally, different university contexts could influence this issue and should be explored. Objective: To assess the impact of a tutored theoretical-practical training for teaching undergraduate students to detect caries lesions as compared with theoretical teaching activities. The impact of these teaching/learning activities will be assessed in terms of efficacy, cost/benefit, retention of knowledge/acquired competences, and student acceptability. Methods: Sixteen centers (7 centers from Brazil and 9 centers from other countries throughout the world) are involved in the inclusion of subjects for this protocol. A randomized controlled study with parallel groups will be conducted. One group (control) will be exposed to a 60- to 90-minute conventional theoretical class and the other group (test) will be exposed to the same theoretical class and also a 90-minute laboratory class, including exercises and discussions based on the evaluation of a pool of images and extracted teeth. The mentioned outcomes will be evaluated immediately after the teaching activities and also in medium- and long-term analyses. To compare the long-term outcomes, students who enrolled in the university before the participating students will be interviewed for data collection and these data will be used as a control and compared with the trained group. This stage will be a nonrandomized phase of this study, nested in the main study. Appropriate statistical analysis will be performed according to the aims of this study. Variables related to the centers will also be analyzed and used to model adjustment as possible sources of variability among results. Results: This ongoing study is funded by a Brazilian national funding agency (CNPq- 400736/2014-4). We expect that the tutored theoretical-practical training will improve the undergraduate students’ performance in the detection of caries lesions and subsequent treatment decisions, mainly in terms of long-term retention of knowledge. Our hypothesis is that tutored theoretical-practical training is a more cost-effective option for teaching undergraduate students to detect caries lesions. Conclusions: If our hypothesis is confirmed, the use of laboratory training in conjunction with theoretical classes could be used as an educational strategy in Cariology to improve the development of undergraduate students’ skills in the detection of caries lesions and clinical decision-making