Food applications of lignocellulosic-based packaging materials

The use of current packaging materials on food products has as main objective to protect the product for the maintenance of food quality and safety during transportation and storage, but also to attract the attention of the consumers for a particular brand while giving information about the food product. The use of cellulose-based materials as secondary and tertiary packaging has been one of the main applications of lignocellulosic materials in food packaging. Nowadays, the use of lignocellulosic materials incorporated in bio-based materials showed to be a good possibility to reduce the use of petroleum-based materials and thus increase the sustainability. During this chapter are given some commercial examples and research studies of the application of lignocellulosic-based materials as food packaging.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bread packaging: features and functions

Bread shelf-life can be extended by means of various packaging solutions. Traditionally, packaging materials had to be as inert as possible (“passive” packaging), and bread was protected by the main causes of spoilage, such as oxygen and molds, mostly by films made of synthetic polymers with low gas permeability, also coupled with the modification of headspace atmosphere. More recently, a new concept was developed to allow packaging to interact with food, after a provisional safety evaluation. “Active” and “intelligent” packaging, therefore, are made of functional materials deliberately interacting with bread for extending or monitoring its shelf-life, respectively. Nanopackaging systems are also under study and, to accomplish environmental requirements, biodegradable and edible films have been set up, all reviewed in this Chapter. Adequate bread packaging, coupled with interventions on formulation, can increase bread shelf-life up to 60 days, but can such a product really substitute “our daily bread”

Clinical subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder based on the presence of checking and washing compulsions Subtipos clínicos do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo com base na presença de compulsões de checagem e lavagem

OBJECTIVE: We aimed at examining the utility of checking and washing compulsions as markers of valid subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHODS: One hundred and six patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder were evaluated with a socio-demographic and clinical questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, the Clinical Global Impression, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and the Global Assessment of Functioning. These individuals were allocated in one of four subgroups [checkers (OCD-Ch; n = 20), washers (OCD-Wa; n = 13), checkers and washers (OCD-CW; n = 48), and non-checkers and non-washers (OCD non-CW = 25)] on the basis of the presence and the clinical relevance of checking and/or washing compulsive behaviors across their lifetime. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were compared and contrasted between the groups by means of ANOVA followed by post-hoc Least Significant Difference or Dunnett's tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests followed by partitioned chi-square tests for categorical variables. RESULTS: OCD-Ch and OCD-Wa did not differ on most demographic and clinical features, the only exception being the number of different types of obsessions, which were significantly higher in the former group. The OCD-CW group was more likely to exhibit an insidious onset of obsessive-compulsive symptoms, to manifest itself as a mixed subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder and to display obsessions with contamination themes. On the other hand, the OCD non-CW group was more likely to exhibit an acute onset, a shorter duration of illness, obsessions with religious themes, an episodic course, and less severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In our sample, the probing of the presence of checking and/or washing compulsions has provided significant empirical support to establish valid subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder.<br>OBJETIVO: Nós investigamos a utilidade das compulsões de verificação e de lavagem como marcadores de subtipos válidos do transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo (TOC). MÉTODOS: Cento e seis pacientes com transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo foram avaliados com um questionário sociodemográfico e clínico e com a entrevista clínica estruturada para o DSM-IV, a escala de sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos de Yale-Brown, a escala de impressão clínica global, o inventário de depressão de Beck, a escala para avaliação de depressão de Hamilton e a avaliação global de funcionamento. Estes indivíduos foram incluídos em um dos seguintes subgrupos: verificadores (TOC-Ver; n = 20), lavadores (TOC-Lav; n = 13), verificadores e lavadores (TOC-VL; n = 48) e não-verificadores e não-lavadores (TOC-NVL = 25). Esta classificação foi realizada com base na presença e relevância clínica de compulsões de verificação e de lavagem ao longo da vida dos pacientes. As variáveis sociodemográficas e clínicas foram comparadas e contrastadas entre os subgrupos através de uma ANOVA seguida pelos testes LSD ou Dunnett para variáveis contínuas e do teste do qui-quadrado seguido pelo qui-quadrado particionado para variáveis categóricas. RESULTADOS: Os pacientes com TOC-Ver e os pacientes com TOC-Lav não diferiram significativamente entre si na maioria das variáveis incluídas no estudo, com exceção do número de diferentes tipos de obsessões, significativamente maior nos primeiros. Os pacientes com TOC-VL exibiram, com maior freqüência, um início insidioso, o subtipo misto de TOC segundo a CID-10 e obsessões de contaminação. Pacientes com TOC-NVL apresentaram, com maior freqüência, um início súbito, menor duração de sintomas, obsessões de conteúdo religioso, curso episódico e sintomas obsessivo-compulsivos menos graves. CONCLUSÕES: A investigação quanto à presença de compulsões de verificação e lavagem sugeriu que estes sintomas podem contribuir para validar subtipos de transtorno obsessivo-compulsivo