The combined effect of pressure and temperature on kefir production - a case study of food fermentation in unconventional conditions

Food fermentation under pressure has been studied in recent years as a way to produce foods with novel properties. The purpose of this work was to study kefir production under pressure (7–50 MPa) at different temperatures (17–32 °C), as a case study of unconventional food fermentation. The fermentation time to produce kefir was similar at all temperatures (17, 25, and 32 °C) up to 15 MPa, compared to atmospheric pressure. At 50 MPa, the fermentation rate was slower, but the difference was reduced as temperature increased. During fermentation, lactic and acetic acid concentration increased while citric acid decreased. The positive activation volumes (Va) obtained indicate that pressure decreased the fermentation rate, while the temperature rise led to the attenuation of the pressure effect (lower Va). On the other hand, higher activation energies (Ea) were observed with pressure increase, indicating that fermentation became more sensitive to temperature. The condition that resulted in a faster fermentation, higher titratable acidity, and higher concentration of lactic acid was 15 MPa/32 °C. As the authors are aware, this is the second work in the literature to study the combined effect of pressure and temperature on a fermentative process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A multibiomarker approach in the clam Ruditapes decussatus to assess the impact of pollution in the Ria Formosa lagoon, South Coast of Portugal

The Ria Formosa lagoon is an ecosystem whose water quality reflects the anthropogenic influence upon the surrounding areas. In this lagoon, the clam Ruditapes decussatus has a great economical importance and has been widely used as a biomonitor. A multibiomarker approach (d-aminolevulinic acid dehy- dratase, metallothionein, lipid peroxidation, acetylcholinesterase, alkali-labile phosphates, DNA damage) was applied to assess the environmental quality of this ecosystem and the accumulation of contaminants and their potential adverse effects on clams. Clams were sampled in different shellfish beds in the period between July 2007 and December 2008 and abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen of seawater and organic matter in the sediment), condition index, metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb), TBTs and PAHs concentrations were measured in clam tissues. Data was integrated using Principal Component Analyses and biomarker indices: IBR (Integrated Biomarker Response) and HSI (Health Status Index). This multibiomarker approach enabled discrimination of a time and space trend between sites with different degrees of anthropogenic contamination, identifying one of them (site 2) as the most stressful and summer months as the most critical period for clams due to an increase of environmental stress (anthropogenic pressure along with extreme environmental conditions, e.g. temperature, dissolved oxygen, organic matter in the sediments, etc). The selected biomarkers provided an integrated response to assess the environmental quality of the system, proving to be a useful approach when complex mixtures of contaminants occur

Phase Competitions behind the Giant Magnetic Entropy Variation: Gd5Si2Ge2 and Tb5Si2Ge2 Case Studies

Magnetic materials with strong spin-lattice coupling are a powerful set of candidates for multifunctional applications because of their multiferroic, magnetocaloric (MCE), magnetostrictive and magnetoresistive effects. In these materials there is a strong competition between two states (where a state comprises an atomic and an associated magnetic structure) that leads to the occurrence of phase transitions under subtle variations of external parameters, such as temperature, magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure. In this review a general method combining detailed magnetic measurements/analysis and first principles calculations with the purpose of estimating the phase transition temperature is presented with the help of two examples (Gd5Si2Ge2 and Tb5Si2Ge2). It is demonstrated that such method is an important tool for a deeper understanding of the (de)coupled nature of each phase transition in the materials belonging to the R5(Si,Ge)4 family and most possibly can be applied to other systems. The exotic Griffiths-like phase in the framework of the R5(SixGe1-x)4 compounds is reviewed and its generalization as a requisite for strong phase competitions systems that present large magneto-responsive properties is proposed

Fisioterapia respiratória em pacientes com fissuras labiopalatinas : rotinas do Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais

As malformações craniofaciais apresentam-se como alterações frequentes sendo as fissuras labiopalatinas mais comumente encontradas. Essa condição leva à ocorrência de infecções de vias aéreas superiores e broncopneumonias pois a comunicação entre a cavidade oral e nasal modifica toda depuração de vias aéreas. O Setor de Fisioterapia do Hospital de Reabilitação de Anomalias Craniofaciais (HRAC/USP) atua em conjunto com a equipe multidisciplinar tanto no ambulatório quanto nas unidades de internação, onde realiza terapia respiratória para melhora do quadro clínico e condição cirúrgica desses pacientes. Diversas são as técnicas de fisioterapia respiratória utilizadas, sendo necessária uma modificação ou adaptação para melhor realização no paciente fissurado. Objetivo: Descrever e divulgar as rotinas de atendimento fisioterapêutico respiratório do Setor de Fisioterapia do HRAC/USP. Método: Baseado em um estudo descritivo da experiência clínica. Resultados: Realiza-se primeiramente uma anamnese, após verifica-se exames laboratoriais e de imagem seguindo para uma avaliação fisioterapêutica respiratória e assim são traçadas as condutas necessárias com o paciente. Na Unidade Ambulatorial foi observado que os pacientes ganham condição cirúrgica após realização de terapia respiratória pré operatória. Na Unidade de Internação a Fisioterapia auxilia na diminuição do tempo de hospitalização, orientando acompanhantes à continuidade do tratamento em casa. Conclusão: Acredita-se que o presente estudo possa contribuir para a divulgação da atuação do fisioterapeuta na assistência de pacientes com fissuras labiopalatinas

Quantum numbers of the X(3872)X(3872) state and orbital angular momentum in its ρ0Jψ\rho^0 J\psi decay

Angular correlations in $B^+\to X(3872) K^+$ decays, with $X(3872)\to \rho^0 J/\psi$, $\rho^0\to\pi^+\pi^-$ and $J/\psi \to\mu^+\mu^-$, are used to measure orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the $J^{PC}$ value of the $X(3872)$ meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb$^{-1}$ of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be $J^{PC}=1^{++}$. The $X(3872)$ is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit of $4\%$ at $95\%$ C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure