Influence of açai fruits (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) conservation on the acceptance of açai drink.

The açai drink is consumed habitually by populations of northern Brazil, but one of the major bottlenecks in the production of this drink is the seasonality of fruit production. Hence the needs to study the influence of cold storage on the transport of fruits from distant locations, such as the archipelago of Bailique (AP, Brazil) until the consumer centers. In this context, fruits collected and packaged under refrigeration and room temperatures were transported by boat for twelve hours and were subsequently processed in a mixer. Sensory analysis was performed in two consecutive days and the samples were stored under refrigeration. This analysis was performed by affective method with global acceptance (n=54) and the samples presented in a balanced way. It was used a hedonic scale with 9 points, ranging from like extremely (9) to dislike extremely (1). The results show that cold storage of the fruits affected significantly (p=0.002467) the acceptance of beverages in both two days of sensory evaluation. On the first day, the drink originated from fruits transported at cold storage received note 8 (liked a lot), while the drink from fruits at room temperature reached grade 7 (like moderately). On the second day of evaluation, the drink from refrigerated fruits received note 7 (like moderately) and drink from fruits stored at room temperature obtained note 5 (indifferent). Considering the type of preservation of fruits, no sensory difference was detected between the drinks from refrigerated fruits served on the two consecutive days, as well as no significant difference in drink of fruits transported at room temperature in this same period. It was concluded that açai fruits collected in regions distant from the consumer center, but kept under refrigeration, produce a drink with a considerable acceptance level, and they could be an alternative for supply of raw material during the off season.Resumo P1.5.010

Laser Monotherapy in Plantar Fasciitis

Introdução: A fasceíte plantar (FP) constitui a causa mais frequente de dor no retropé. Está recomendada uma prova terapêutica inicial conservadora. Objetivos: Caraterizar fatores demográficos e sintomáticos, terapêutica prévia e resultados de monoterapia com laser. Material e Métodos: Estudo observacional retrospetivo (12 meses). O tratamento aplicado foi laser infravermelho (AsGa 904nm; densidade de energia 20J/cm2; potência de pico 200mW). Fez-se análise estatística descritiva e comparativa (nível de significância de 0,05). Resultados: Seguiram-se 32 doentes com FP, com idade média de 54,28 anos (24–86; DP 13,95), 66% mulheres, Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) médio de 30,18Kg/m2 (17,91-41,13; DP 5,19), 75% unilaterais, tempo médio de evolução de 6,28 meses (0,2-24; DP 6,82), 21 tinham feito previamente farmacoterapia e 12 outros tratamentos de MFR. O nível de dor inicial (END) médio foi 7,31 (5-10; DP 1,38). Dos 26 doentes tratados (6 perdas), 24 (92,3%) reportaram melhoria. O número médio de sessões foi 28,5 (11– 60; DP 14,01). O nível médio de dor final foi 0,75 (0-5; DP 2,37), com melhoria média de 89,7% (28,6%-100%; DP 0,16) do nível de dor. A intensidade de dor inicial foi maior em doentes com IMC superior (p=0,002). Não se encontraram outras relações estatisticamente significativas. Conclusões: A FP caraterizou-se por um nível de dor significativo (moderado a grave). A obesidade pareceu ser um fator de risco. A taxa de melhoria com o tratamento com laser foi muito satisfatória. A terapia com laser de baixa intensidade IV constitui uma boa opção terapêutica, a justificar avaliação suplementar por ensaios prospetivos controlados e randomizados

SUBJECT-SPECIFIC MUSCULOSKELETAL MODEL TO IDENTIFY MUSCLE CONTRIBUTION TO THE ACCELERATION PHASE IN ELITE SPRINTING

The purpose of this study was to identify which lower limb joint moments of force and lower limb muscles had the highest contribution to the forward and upward acceleration of the Body Centre of Gravity (BCG) in an elite sprinter during the first step after starting from blocks in 100 meters dash. An induced acceleration analysis approach was used to mechanically ascertain this contribution. Two models were used, one based in a simple multilink rigid body’s model and a second using a musculoskeletal model developed using Opensim. Our results showed a possible synergist action between hip and ankle extensors that allow an optimal combination that resulted in a forward propulsion of the BCG, this results seem to be corroborated using an Opensim musculoskeletal model

Carnitine partially improves oxidative stress, acrosome integrity, and reproductive competence in doxorubicin-treated rats

Doxorubicin has been largely used in anticancer therapy in adults, adolescents, and children. The efficacy of l-carnitine as an antioxidant substance has been confirmed both in humans and rats. Carnitine, present in testis and epididymis, is involved in sperm maturation. It is also effective in infertility treatment. As a continuation of a previous study, we evaluated whether some spermatic qualitative parameters, DNA integrity, chromatin structure, and fertility status, could be ameliorated by the carnitine treatment in adult rats, which were subsequently exposed to doxorubicin at pre-puberty. Pre-pubertal male rats were distributed into four groups: Sham ControlDoxorubicinl-carnitinel-carnitine+Doxorubicin (l-carnitine injected 1h before doxorubicin). At 100days of age, all groups were reassigned into two sets: One set was submitted to the evaluation of sperm motility, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity, sperm chromatin structure analysis (SCSA), and evaluation of the oxidative stress. The other set of rats was destined to the evaluation of reproductive competence. The percentage of spermatozoa with intact acrosome integrity was higher in the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group when compared with the Doxorubicin group. However, sperm motility and mitochondrial activity were not improved by carnitine pre-treatment. Both values of malondialdehyde and nitrite (indirect measurement of nitric oxide) concentrations were statistically higher in the only doxorubicin-treated group when compared to the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. Fertility index and implantation rate were lower in Doxorubicin group, when compared to Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. Moreover, the percentage of spermatozoa with damaged DNA was higher in the Doxorubicin-treated group when compared to the Carnitine+Doxorubicin group. l-carnitine, when administered before doxorubicin, partially preserved the acrosome integrity, an important feature related to sperm fertilization ability that positively correlated with the reproductive competence and sperm DNA integrity at adulthood. In conclusion, l-carnitine attenuated the long-term alterations caused by doxorubicin in the germ cells and improved male reproductive capacity in adulthood.National Council for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES/Brazil)Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Lab Dev Biol, Dept Morphol & Genet, Botucatu St 740,Leitao da Cunha Bldg,2nd Floor, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilFed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Lab Dev Biol, Dept Morphol & Genet, Botucatu St 740,Leitao da Cunha Bldg,2nd Floor, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Effect of pre-treatment on açaí pulp microfiltration process.

Açaí (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) is a palm tree from north region of Brazil. Its small fruit is rich in bioactive compounds making it an attractive product. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of pre-treatments on microfiltration of açaí pulp. Raw material was acaí pulp from Belém, Brazil. Pre-treatments were centrifugation, conducted in a basket centrifuge; refining, in a depulper with a 0.5 ?m mesh; and enzymatic hydrolysis with DSM Rapidase and Picantase for 30 min at 35oC. Microfiltration was conducted in tubular membranes with 0.1?m pore size and 0.022m2 of surface. Processes were carried out at 35oC/3bar in batch mode. Permeate flux was determined during the process. Total and soluble solids, pH and acidity were determined on initial and treated pulp, permeate and retentate. Initial pulp contained 13.89 (w/w), 2.85oBrix, 0.19g/100g (malic acid) and 4.93 of pH. Total solids of treated pulp from centrifugation (5.71%) were lower than the others (13.83 and 13.84%) which consequently caused lower total solids in retentate and permeate fractions. Acidity and pH of treated pulp were different (p<0.05) for the different pre-treatments. Similar behaviors were also verified to retentate and permeate fractions. Values varied from 0.10 to 0.29 g/100g malic acid and pH from 4.17 to 4.98, with no correlation to total solids content. Soluble solids were different for each fraction although there was no significant difference in the same fraction in function of used pre-treatment. The values were 2.87, 1.63 and 4.77oBrix for treated pulp, permeate and retentate, respectively. Average flux was affected by pre-treatment being the lowest values, around 70 L/hm2, obtained after centrifugation and the highest, 110 L/hm2, with the enzymatic action. As physical-chemical parameters did not present a behavior that contributes for the pre-treatment selection, permeate flux results suggest the use of enzyme as the recommended option

A doença de Chagas e o açaí: considerações sobre a situação no Amapá.

A doença de Chagas é causada pelo protozoário Trypanosoma cruzi, que pode ser transmitido por insetos popularmente chamados de ?barbeiros? contaminados. Na região Norte do Brasil, houve um aumento gradativo dos casos dessa doença, relacionando-a à ingestão da bebida processada de frutos de açaizeiro, consumida como refeição diária pela população. O barbeiro contaminado pode estar presente no fruto, durante a colheita, transporte, comercialização e no processamento em bebida nos estabelecimentos conhecidos como ?batedeiras?. O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar análise temporal dos casos de doença de Chagas no Amapá no período de 2007 a 2018