Analysis of food supplement with unusual raspberry ketone content

In recent years food supplement market increased constantly, including slimming products and against obesity. The case of rasberry ketone (RK) is here reported. HPTLC and HPLC-DAD analyses on a marketed product containing raspberry juice evidenced an abnormal quantity of RK, not in accordance with the juice natural content. The reported data confirm the need of adequate controls on marketed food supplements and the necessity of a complete adherence between labelling and real constitution of the product. Practical Applications: Determining the natural origin and assuring the consumers' safety for raspberry-based food supplement

Routes to Novel Azo compounds

Routes to novel heterocyclic azo compounds and components of use as potential inkjet dyes were investigated. A new route to fluorenones from biphenyl acid chlorides using FVP (Flash Vacuum Pyrolysis) has been discovered. Fluorenone and 4-methylfluoren-9-one were prepared by FVP of 2-phenylbenzoyl chloride and 2-methylbiphenyl-2-carbonyl chloride respectively. Xanthen-9-one and thioxanthen-9-one were also prepared by FVP from the corresponding acid chlorides. 9-Phenanthrol could also be prepared via the FVP of biphenylacetyl choride and the application of this method to a heterocylic thiophene system afforded naphtho[1,2-b]thiophen-4-ol. Naphtho[2,1-b]thiophen-4-ol and naphtho[1,2-b]furan- 4-ol could be obtained in low yields by the FVP of (2-thiophen-3-ylphenyl)acetic acid methyl ester and (2-furan-2-ylphenyl) acetic acid methyl ester over a tungsten trioxide catalyst. Coupling of these systems with the diazonium salt of Acid Yellow 9 afforded the corresponding azo compounds. New heterocyclic dyes were also prepared from the condensation of heterocyclic hydrazines with 4,9-disulfophenanthrenequinone. Pyridine, pyridazine, phthalazine, isoquinoline and 2-quinoline disulfophenanthrene quinone metallised 2:1 nickel complexed magenta dyes were prepared. Industrial tests by standard methods revealed the pyridazine dye has a particularly impressive balance of light and ozone fastness over similar magenta dyes. The reaction of an arylnitro compound with 2-aminopyridine appeared to be an attractive and high yielding route to 2-(phenylazo)pyridine. However, application of this reaction to substituted and naphthalene systems failed. This afforded byproducts due to nucleophilic substitution of groups such as methoxy and the relatively uncommon nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen with none of the required azo products obtained. Therefore it appeared that the reaction of a nitro and amine was not a robust and versatile route to heterocyclic azo compounds. An alternate route to heterocyclic azo compounds involved the use of the Mills reaction by the condensation o-anisidine, p-chloroaniline, 2-aminophenol, 3- aminophenol, naphthylamine, 8-amnioquinoline and 2-acetylamino-5-aminobenzenesulfonic acid with 2-nitrosopyridine afforded the heterocyclic azo products in moderate to high yields. The Mills reaction does appear to be the favored route to heterocyclic azo compounds. Several factors were identified which affect the process of bisazo coupling of chromotropic acid and products obtained. Reaction at the ipso position of monoPACAs (2-phenylazochromotropic acid) leading to increased yields of the ipso substitution monoPACA by-product as opposed to the expected bisazo coupling position was a major problem. Studies indicated reactivity at the ipso position was greatly reduced by the presence of electron withdrawing groups around the phenyl ring of the monoPACA. Further study indicated reaction at the bisazo coupling position increased with the strength of the diazonium salt used in bisazo coupling. Therefore the electronic nature of the monoPACA starting material and the diazonium salt used in bisazo coupling greatly affected the products obtained. Reaction pH studies also revealed attack at the bisazo coupling position increases with pH and at lower pH (5.0 – 8.0) attack at the ipso position dominated. Reactivity of the monoPACA starting material also increased with pH. The influence of steric effects upon bisazo coupling revealed, in the cases where ortho sulfonic acid groups were present in the monoPACA, a reduction in attack at the ipso position. Hence the reaction appeared to be directed towards the required bisazo coupling position

Stressing Success: Examining Hmong Student Success in Career and Technical Education

This study examines factors affecting the academic performance of Hmong students at Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire, WI. Factors specifically analyzed for their impact upon student success are socioeconomic status, family support, the use of academic support programs, and the influence of agents of socialization. Through the use of archival institutional data, Hmong students were compared to white students at CVTC in terms of their relative grade point averages, course completion rates, and retention rates. Data revealed significant disparities in grade point average performance between Hmong and white students. The data also showed that eligibility for financial aid was significantly higher among Hmong students, and that this difference was commensurate with educational performance gaps between the two groups. Additionally, online surveys were used to assess family support while attending CVTC, the role of academic support programs, and influential agents of socialization. Gender differences in grade point average performance and socialization also were analyzed. Implications of the study’s findings are discussed and recommendations for improving the performance of Hmong students are provided

Temporal Variation of NO2 and O3 in Rome (Italy) from Pandora and In Situ Measurements

To assess the best measures for the improvement of air quality, it is crucial to investigate in situ and columnar pollution levels. In this study, ground-based measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O-3) collected in Rome (Italy) between 2017 and 2022 are analyzed. Pandora sun-spectrometers provided the time series of the NO2 vertical column density (VC-NO2), tropospheric column density (TC-NO2), near-surface concentration (SC-NO2), and the O-3 vertical column density (VC-O-3). In situ concentrations of NO2 and O-3 are provided by an urban background air quality station. The results show a clear reduction of NO2 over the years, thanks to the recent ecological transition policies, with marked seasonal variability, observable both by columnar and in situ data. Otherwise, O-3 does not show inter-annual variations, although a clear seasonal cycle is detectable. The results suggest that the variation of in situ O-3 is mainly imputable to photochemical reactions while, in the VC-O-3, it is triggered by the predominant contribution of stratospheric O-3. The outcomes highlight the importance of co-located in situ and columnar measurements in urban environments to investigate physical and chemical processes driving air pollution and to design tailored climate change adaptation strategies

The Low Energy Tagger for the KLOE-2 experiment

The KLOE experiment at the upgraded DAFNE e+e- collider in Frascati (KLOE-2) is going to start a new data taking at the beginning of 2010 with its detector upgraded with a tagging system for the identification of gamma-gamma interactions. The tagging stations for low-energy e+e- will consist in two calorimeters The calorimeter used to detect low-energy e+e- will be placed between the beam-pipe outer support structure and the inner wall of the KLOE drift chamber. This calorimeter will be made of LYSO crystals readout by Silicon Photomultipliers, to achieve an energy resolution better than 8% at 200 MeV.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, in the proceedings of "Frontier detectors for frontier physics", isola d'Elba, Italy, May 200

Pasta consumption and connected dietary habits: Associations with glucose control, adiposity measures, and cardiovascular risk factors in people with type 2 diabetes—TOSCA.IT study

Background: Pasta is a refined carbohydrate with a low glycemic index. Whether pasta shares the metabolic advantages of other low glycemic index foods has not really been investigated. The aim of this study is to document, in people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, the connected dietary habits, and the association with glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors. Methods: We studied 2562 participants. The dietary habits were assessed with the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) questionnaire. Sex-specific quartiles of pasta consumption were created in order to explore the study aims. Results: A higher pasta consumption was associated with a lower intake of proteins, total and saturated fat, cholesterol, added sugar, and fiber. Glucose control, body mass index, prevalence of obesity, and visceral obesity were not significantly different across the quartiles of pasta intake. No relation was found with LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but there was an inverse relation with HDL-cholesterol. Systolic blood pressure increased with pasta consumption; but this relation was not confirmed after correction for confounders. Conclusions: In people with type-2 diabetes, the consumption of pasta, within the limits recommended for total carbohydrates intake, is not associated with worsening of glucose control, measures of adiposity, and major cardiovascular risk factors

On the complexity of the boundary layer structure and aerosol vertical distribution in the coastal Mediterranean regions: a case study

The planetary boundary layer structure in the coastal areas, and particularly in complex orography regions such as the Mediterranean, is extremely intricate. In this study, we show the evolution of the planetary boundary layer based on in situ airborne measurements and ground-based remote sensing observations carried out during the MORE (Marine Ozone and Radiation Experiment) campaign in June 2010. The campaign was held in a rural coastal Mediterranean region in Southern Italy. The study focuses on the observations made on 17 June. Vertical profiles of meteorological parameters and aerosol size distribution were measured during two flights: in the morning and in the afternoon. Airborne observations were combined with ground-based LIDAR, SODAR, microwave and visible radiometer measurements, allowing a detailed description of the atmospheric vertical structure. The analysis was complemented with data from a regional atmospheric model run with horizontal resolutions of 12, 4 and 1 km, respectively; back-trajectories were calculated at these spatial resolutions. The observations show the simultaneous occurrence of dust transport, descent of mid-tropospheric air and sea breeze circulation on 17 June. Local pollution effects on the aerosol distribution, and a possible event of new particles formation were also observed. A large variability in the thermodynamical structure and aerosol distribution in the flight region, extending by approximately 30km along the coast, was found. Within this complex, environment-relevant differences in the back-trajectories calculated at different spatial resolutions are found, suggesting that the description of several dynamical processes, and in particular the sea breeze circulation, requires high-resolution meteorological analyses. The study also shows that the integration of different observational techniques is needed to describe these complex conditions; in particular, the availability of flights and their timing with respect to the occurring phenomena are crucial

Antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity on tumor cells of the essential oil from Cedronella canariensis var. canariensis (L.) Webb & Berthel. (Lamiaceae)

Cedronella canariensis is a lemon-scented species of the family Lamiaceae endemic to the Canary Islands where it is used in the traditional medicine to prepare infusions or inhalations for anti-catarrhal, tonic, diuretic, hypoglycaemiant, hypotensive, antiinflammatory and decongestant of the respiratory tract. In this work we investigated for the first time the antioxidant activity of the essential oil and its inhibitory effects on tumour cells (A375, MDA-MB-231, HCT 116) proliferation by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP and MTT assays, respectively. The oil, analysed by GC-ionisation flame detector and GC–MS, was characterised by pinocarvone (58.0%) and b-pinene (10.8%) as the major constituents, being typical of the chemotype ‘canariensis’. Noteworthy was the cytotoxic activity of the oil against the tumour cells examined, with IC50 values of 4.3, 7.3 and 11.4 µg/mL on A375, MDA-MB-231 and HCT 116 tumour cells, respectively, as well as the scavenging activity against the ABTS radical (IC50 of 10.5 µg/mL)