Pengaruh Pemberian Jus Pare (Momordica Charantia L.) Dan Jus Jeruk Nipis (Citrus Aurantifolia) Terhadap Kadar Kolesterol Total Tikus Sprague Dawley Hiperkolsterolemia

Latar Belakang : Hiperkolesterolemia merupakan faktor utama dan faktor risiko independen penyakit kardiovaskuler. Penurunan kolesterol total merupakan salah satu strategi dalam terapi penyakit kardiovaskuler. Buah pare dan jeruk nipis memilki potensi menurunkan kolesterol total. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh jus pare, jus jeruk nipis dan kombinasi kedua buah dalam menurunkan kolesterol total.Metode : Penelitian ini merupakan true experimental dengan rancangan pre-post test randomized control group design. Sampel terdiri dari 28 tikus jantan Sprague Dawley hiperkolesterolemia yang dibagi menjadi 4 kelompok. Intervensi dilakukan selama 14 hari dengan kelompok kontrol hanya diberi pakan standar, perlakuan 1 (P1) diberi jus pare 2 ml/ekor/hari, perlakuan 2 (P2) diberi jus jeruk nipis 2 ml/ekor/hari dan perlakuan 3 (P3) diberi kombinasi jus pare dan jus jeruk nipis sebanyak 4 ml/ekor/hari. Kadar kolsterol total dianalisis dengan metode CHOD-PAP. Data dianalisis dengan uji Paired t-test dan one way Anova.Hasil : Penelitian ini menunjukkan terjadi penurunan kolesterol total setelah pemberian jus pare (22,51%), jus jeruk nipis (28,93%) dan kombinasi jus pare+jeruk nipis (24,04%) (p<0,05). Namun tidak terdapat perbedaan rerata Perubahan kadar kolesterol total antara kelompok kontrol dan perlakuan dengan p=0,105 (p>0,05)Simpulan : Tidak terdapat perbedaan pengaruh pemberian pare, jus jeruk nipis dan kombinasi jus pare+jeruk nipis terhadap penurunan kolesterol total tikus hiperkolesterolemia

Synthesis and characterization of p-n junction ternary mixed oxides for photocatalytic coprocessing of CO2 and H2O

In the present paper, we report the synthesis and characterization of both binary (Cu2 O, Fe2 O3, and In2 O3 ) and ternary (Cu2 O-Fe2 O3 and Cu2 O-In2 O3 ) transition metal mixed-oxides that may find application as photocatalysts for solar driven CO2 conversion into energy rich species. Two different preparation techniques (High Energy Milling (HEM) and Co-Precipitation (CP)) are compared and materials properties are studied by means of a variety of characterization and analytical techniques UV-Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (UV-VIS DRS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray spectrometry (EDX). Appropriate data elaboration methods are used to extract materials bandgap for Cu2 O@Fe2 O3 and Cu2 O@In2 O3 prepared by HEM and CP, and foresee whether the newly prepared semiconductor mixed oxides pairs are useful for application in CO2-H2 O coprocessing. The experimental results show that the synthetic technique influences the photoactivity of the materials that can correctly be foreseen on the basis of bandgap experimentally derived. Of the mixed oxides prepared and described in this work, only Cu2 O@In2 O3 shows positive results in CO2-H2 O photo-co-processing. Preliminary results show that the composition and synthetic methodologies of mixed-oxides, the reactor geometry, the way of dispersing the photocatalyst sample, play a key role in the light driven reaction of CO2 –H2 O. This work is a rare case of full characterization of photo-materials, using UV-Visible DRS, XPS, XRD, TEM, EDX for the surface and bulk analytical characterization. Surface composition may not be the same of the bulk composition and plays a key role in photocatalysts behavior. We show that a full material knowledge is necessary for the correct forecast of their photocatalytic behavior, inferred from experimentally determined bandgaps

Ellipsometric Porosimetry for the Microstructure Characterization of Plasma-Deposited SiO2-Like Films

SiO2 layers have been deposited from Ar/O2/hexamethyldisiloxane mixtures in a remote expanding thermal plasma setup enabling a good control of both the ion flux (by changing the deposition chemistry and the arc plasma parameters) as well as the ion energy. This latter is achieved by an additional rf substrate biasing or a tailored ion biasing technique, i.e. a low frequency pulse-shaped bias. The role of the ion energy and ion-to-growth flux ratio on the film microstructure and densification at low substrate temperature (100ºC) has been investigated by means of ellipsometric porosimetry. This technique monitors the refractive index change due to the adsorption (and desorption) of ethanol vapors in the volume of macro-meso-micro pores in the SiO2 layer. From the analysis of the adsorption isotherm and the presence of hysteresis during the desorption step as a function of the equilibrium partial pressure, the open porosity in the layer can be determined. It is found that both biasing techniques lead to densification of the deposited layer, which experiences a transition from micro-/ mesoporosity to microporosity and eventually non-porosity, as function of the increasing ion energy. Although both biasing techniques lead to a comparable critical ion energy value per deposited SiO2 unit (about 100 eV), the ion-to-growth flux ratio and ion energy are not found to be interchangeable parameters. In fact, in the case of the rf bias, the meso- and large micropores are first affected leading to a quantitative decrease of porosity, i.e. from 11% to 3% at an ion energy less than 20 eV. A further increase in ion energy eventually reduces the presence of smaller micropores leading to non porous films at energy of 45 eV. When the pulse-shaped biasing technique is adopted, the micro- and mesopores are simultaneously affected over the whole range of available ion energy, leading to a non porous layer only at very high energy values, i.e. 240 eV. This difference is attributed to the increasing ion-to-growth flux ratio accompanying the rf biasing, as a consequence of the rf plasma generation in front of the substrate

Opto‐Electronic Characterization of Photocatalysts Based on p,n‐Junction Ternary and Quaternary Mixed Oxides Semiconductors (Cu2O‐In2O3 and Cu2O‐In2O3‐TiO2)

Semiconductor materials are the basis of electronic devices employed in the communication and media industry. In the present work, we report the synthesis and characterization of mixed metal oxides (MOs) as p,n‐junction photocatalysts, and demonstrate the correlation between the preparation technique and the properties of the materials. Solid‐state UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV‐VIS DRS) allowed for the determination of the light absorption properties and the optical energy gap. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) allowed for the determination of the surface speciation and composition and for the determination of the valence band edge. The opto‐electronic behavior was evaluated measuring the photocurrent generated after absorption of chopped visible light in a 3‐electrode cell. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements allowed for auxiliary characterization of size and morphology, showing the formation of composites for the ternary Cu2O‐In2O3 p,n‐mixed oxide, and even more for the quaternary Cu2O‐In2O3‐TiO2 MO. Light absorption spectra and photocurrent‐time curves mainly depend upon the composition of MOs, while the optical energy gap and defective absorption tail are closely related to the preparation methodology, time and thermal treatment. Qualitative electronic band structures of semiconductors are also presented

Affective Contagion: How Attitudes Expressed by Others Influence Our Perception of Actions

Vitality forms represent a fundamental aspect of social interactions by characterizing how actions are performed and how words are pronounced on the basis of the attitude of the agent. Same action, such as a handshake, may have a different impact on the receiver when it is performed kindly or vigorously, and similarly, a gentle or rude tone of voice may have a different impact on the listener. In the present study, we carried out two experiments that aimed to investigate whether and how vocal requests conveying different vitality forms can influence the perception of goal-directed actions and to measure the duration of this effect over time. More specifically, participants were asked to listen to the voice of an actor pronouncing “give me” in a rude or gentle way. Then, they were asked to observe the initial part of a rude or a gentle passing action, continue it mentally, and estimate the time of its completion. Results showed that the perception of different vitality forms expressed by vocal requests influenced the estimation of action duration. Moreover, we found that this effect was limited to a certain time interval (800 ms), after which it started to decay

Comparative life cycle assessment study on environmental impact of oil production from micro-algae and terrestrial oilseed crops

In this study the LCA methodology is applied in order to satisfy two goals: i) to evaluate the hot spots in site-specific production chain of biodiesel from terrestrial and micro-algae feedstock; ii) to compare quantitatively, utilizing primary data, the impacts of the first generation in respect to the third generation bio-fuels. Results show that micro-algae are neither competitive yet with traditional oil crops nor with fossil fuel. The use of renewable technologies as photovoltaics and biogas self production might increase the competitiveness of micro-algae oil. Further investigations are however necessary to optimize their production chain and to increase the added value of co-products

Construir a Sustentabilidade a partir da infância

O desenvolvimento sustentável está hoje na ordem do dia e reúne vastos consensos em torno de o tornar uma prioridade para a ação humana do século XXI. Em janeiro de 2016, as Nações Unidas acordaram em conjugar esforços e trabalhar de forma concertada com vista a alcançar, no ano de 2030, os dezassete Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) e assim: reduzir as desigualdades, erradicar extrema pobreza, acabar com a fome, melhorar as provisões de saúde e educação, alcançar a igualdade de género, proteger o meio ambiente e promover a paz, a justiça e a prosperidade (figura 1). Os sinais de urgência são muitos. Recentemente em Portugal fomos todos confrontados pelos desequilíbrios sociais e ambientais, quando observámos os níveis de pobreza a aumentarem, a fome voltar a afetar as famílias mais vulneráveis, os serviços de saúde falharem na garantia de bem-estar a todos e, com os incêndios do verão de 2017, tornou-se uma evidência a necessidade de olharmos para o nosso ambiente, para as alterações climáticas e para as mudanças necessárias no ordenamento do nosso território. A consciência da nossa interdependência requer que adotemos uma visão sistémica para abordar os nossos problemas comuns e que nos envolvamos na construção de uma cidadania global para “satisfazer as necessidades do presente sem comprometer a capacidade das gerações futuras de atender às suas necessidades”(ONU, 1987). Neste artigo apresentamos o trabalho que está a ser desenvolvido desde 2012 e em Portugal, no projeto Construir a sustentabilidade a partir da infância, um projeto que nasceu no seio de um projeto da Organização Mundial da Educação Pré-escolar (OMEP) e que a nível nacional, envolve a parceria entre a Universidade de Évora, o Centro de Atividade Infantil de Évora (CAIE), A Escola Básica Manuel Ferreira Patrício (EBMFP) e o Centro infantil Irene Lisboa (CIIL)

Development, optimization, and comparison of different sample pre-treatments for simultaneous determination of vitamin e and vitamin K in vegetables

The absence of vitamin E from the diet can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer, cataracts, and premature aging. Vitamin K deficiency can lead to bleeding disorders. These fat-soluble vitamins are important nutritional factors that can be determined in different methods in vegetables. In this work, the simultaneous determination of α-tocopherol, α-tocopheryl acetate, phylloquinone, and menaquinone-4 by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been optimized using both direct injection and solid phase microextraction (SPME). Three different sample pre-treatment approaches based on: (A) solid-liquid-liquid-liquid extraction (SLE-LLE), (B) SLE, and (C) SPME were then applied to extract the target analytes from vegetables samples using menaquinone as internal standard. All the procedures allowed the determination of the target analytes in onion, carrot, celery, and curly kale samples. Similar results were obtained with the three different approaches, even if the one based on SPME offers the best performance, together with a reduced use of solvent, time consumption, and experimental complexity, which makes it the preferable option for industrial applications