INFLUÊNCIA DA REDUÇÃO DO TEOR DE NITRITO DE SÓDIO NA ESTABILIDADE OXIDATIVA E AVALIAÇÃO MICROBIOLÓGICA DE LINGUIÇA SUÍNA FRESCAL.

Durante o processamento de produtos cárneos curados são utilizados alguns conservantes químicos como o nitrito de sódio, com o objetivo de conservar, alterar características sensoriais e diversificar a produção. A adição de nitrito tem sido associada a uma imagem negativa em relação a saúde dos consumidores devido a formação de nitrosaminas, o que tem levado a indústria de alimentos a reconsiderar a quantidade de nitrito utilizada. Considerando essa abordagem, o objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em avaliar a influência da concentração do nitrito de sódio na estabilidade oxidativa e na contagem microbiológica da linguiça suína frescal. Foram elaborados amostras de linguiça com 0, 50, 100, 150 e 200 mg.kg-1 de nitrito de sódio, que foram embaladas a vácuo e armazenadas a temperatura de 5ºC. Foram avaliados o perfil de oxidação lipídica, por meio do número de substâncias reativas ao ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS), a cor, o pH, a acidez e a quantificação de nitrito residual ao longo do período de armazenamento (Dias 1, 8 e 15). A avaliação microbiológica foi feita por meio de contagens de coliformes totais (NMP.g-1); coliformes termotolerantes (NMP.g-1), microrganismos psicrotróficos (Log.UFC.g-1) e Staphylococcus coagulase positiva (UFC.g-1) nos dias 0, 7 e 14. Durante o período estudado, observou-se número de TBARS de 0,24 mg.kg-1, quando adicionou-se 50 mg.kg-1 de nitrito e 0,09 mg.kg-1, quando utilizou-se 200 mg.kg-1, verificando-se uma redução (P ≤ 0,05) no número de TBARS com o aumento da concentração de nitrito de sódio. Durante o tempo de armazenamento foi observado um aumento (P ≤ 0,05) nos valores de TBARS, de 0,14 mg.kg-1 para 0,21 mg.kg-1, evidenciando que houve desenvolvimento do processo de oxidação lipídica. Com relação à determinação objetiva da cor, foi observado durante o tempo avaliado, aumento (P ≤ 0,05) dos valores de L* de 57,77 para 59,2, e redução (P ≤ 0,05) dos valores de b* de 14,9 para 13,3, não sendo observada influência (P > 0,05) do nitrito de sódio em nenhum dos parâmetros de cor avaliados. Embora os valores de pH e acidez não tenham tido diferenças significativas nas distintas concentrações de nitrito, apresentaram variação (P ≤ 0,05) durante o período de armazenamento, verificando valores de 5,78 para 5,66 e 7,95 para 9,75 % de ácido lático, respectivamente. Os teores de nitrito residual aumentaram (P ≤ 0,05) de 1,95 para 6,57 mg.kg-1 no 1º dia, quando a concentração de nitrito se elevou de 50 para 200 mg.kg-1, mas durante o tempo de acondicionamento, reduziu-se quase que completamente, apresentando níveis menores que 2 mg.kg-1 no 15º dia. Durante a avaliação microbiológica da linguiça suína frescal, observou-se contagens para coliformes totais e termotolerantes inferiores a 1 x 103 NMP.g-1 e para Staphylococcus coagulase positiva, todos os resultados foram negativos, mostrando-se em acordo com a legislação brasileira. Na contagem de microrganismos psicrotróficos, todos os tratamentos apresentaram contagens superiores a 6 Log UFC.g-1. Diante dos resultados apresentados, conclui-se que todos os tratamentos apresentaram-se estáveis à oxidação lipídica e à avaliação microbiológica. Assim, poderia ser possível reduzir as concentrações de nitrito de sódio usadas no preparo da linguiça suína frescal. Porém, antes de adotar esta medida, são necessários mais estudos para avaliar a influência das concentrações de nitrito sobre outras variáveis associadas à conservação e segurança da linguiça suína frescal

Lighting as a Circadian Rhythm-Entraining and Alertness-Enhancing Stimulus in the Submarine Environment

The human brain can only accommodate a circadian rhythm that closely follows 24 hours. Thus, for a work schedule to meet the brain’s hard-wired requirement, it must employ a 24 hour-based program. However, the 6 hours on, 12 hours off (6/12) submarine watchstanding schedule creates an 18-hour “day” that Submariners must follow. Clearly, the 6/12 schedule categorically fails to meet the brain’s operational design, and no schedule other than one tuned to the brain’s 24 hour rhythm can optimize performance. Providing Submariners with a 24 hour-based watchstanding schedule—combined with effective circadian entrainment techniques using carefully-timed exposure to light—would allow crewmembers to work at the peak of their daily performance cycle and acquire more restorative sleep. In the submarine environment, where access to natural light is absent, electric lighting can play an important role in actively entraining—and closely maintaining—circadian regulation. Another area that is likely to have particular importance in the submarine environment is the potential effect of light to help restore or maintain alertness

The Effects of Red and Blue Lights on Circadian Variations in Cortisol, Alpha Amylase, and Melatonin

The primary purpose of the present study was to expand our understanding of the impact of light exposures on the endocrine and autonomic systems as measured by acute cortisol, alpha amylase, and melatonin responses. We utilized exposures from narrowband long-wavelength (red) and from narrow-band short-wavelength (blue) lights to more precisely understand the role of the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in these responses. In a within-subjects experimental design, twelve subjects periodically received one-hour corneal exposures of 40 lux from the blue or from the red lights while continuously awake for 27 hours. Results showed-that, as expected, only the blue light reduced nocturnal melatonin. In contrast, both blue and red lights affected cortisol levels and, although less clear, alpha amylase levels as well. The present data bring into question whether the nonvisual pathway mediating nocturnal melatonin suppression is the same as that mediating other responses to light exhibited by the endocrine and the autonomic nervous systems

Does architectural lighting contribute to breast cancer?

OBJECTIVES: There is a growing interest in the role that light plays on nocturnal melatonin production and, perhaps thereby, the incidence of breast cancer in modern societies. The direct causal relationships in this logical chain have not, however, been fully established and the weakest link is an inability to quantitatively specify architectural lighting as a stimulus for the circadian system. The purpose of the present paper is to draw attention to this weakness. DATA SOURCES AND EXTRACTION: We reviewed the literature on the relationship between melatonin, light at night, and cancer risk in humans and tumor growth in animals. More specifically, we focused on the impact of light on nocturnal melatonin suppression in humans and on the applicability of these data to women in real-life situations. Photometric measurement data from the lighted environment of women at work and at home is also reported. DATA SYNTHESIS: The literature review and measurement data demonstrate that more quantitative knowledge is needed about circadian light exposures actually experienced by women and girls in modern societies. CONCLUSION: Without such quantitative knowledge, limited insights can be gained about the causal relationship between melatonin and the etiology of breast cancer from epidemiological studies and from parametric studies using animal models

Criador conservacionista: inserção da sociedade na conservação dos recursos genéticos animais da Embrapa.

O Brasil possui a pecuária mais diversificada do planeta, bem como uma grande biodiversidade que, apresenta casos de espécies ameaçadas de extinção e/ou descaracterização e núcleos de conservação, como o Banco de Germoplasma Animal da Amazônia Oriental - BAGAM têm importância fundamental como alternativa para a conservação desses grupos genéticos. Contudo, um dos maiores problemas na questão da conservação enfrentados pela Embrapa, de maneira geral, é a manutenção dos recursos genéticos ?in vivo? nas diversas Unidades Descentralizadas - UDs. Localizado na ilha de Marajó/PA, sugere-se que sejam repassados animais para criadores interessados sob a forma de comodato. O objetivo deste trabalho é demonstrar que há alternativas de conservar o patrimônio genético através de parcerias e incentivos privados, possibilitando a inserção de criadores no processo, dispostos a manter e dar continuidade ao trabalho conservacionista que, até o momento, causa ônus somente aos cofres públicos

Circadian light

The present paper reflects a work in progress toward a definition of circadian light, one that should be informed by the thoughtful, century-old evolution of our present definition of light as a stimulus for the human visual system. This work in progress is based upon the functional relationship between optical radiation and its effects on nocturnal melatonin suppression, in large part because the basic data are available in the literature. Discussed here are the fundamental differences between responses by the visual and circadian systems to optical radiation. Brief reviews of photometry, colorimetry, and brightness perception are presented as a foundation for the discussion of circadian light. Finally, circadian light (CLA) and circadian stimulus (CS) calculation procedures based on a published mathematical model of human circadian phototransduction are presented with an example

A new approach to understanding the impact of circadian disruption on human health

Abstract Background Light and dark patterns are the major synchronizer of circadian rhythms to the 24-hour solar day. Disruption of circadian rhythms has been associated with a variety of maladies. Ecological studies of human exposures to light are virtually nonexistent, however, making it difficult to determine if, in fact, light-induced circadian disruption directly affects human health. Methods A newly developed field measurement device recorded circadian light exposures and activity from day-shift and rotating-shift nurses. Circadian disruption defined in terms of behavioral entrainment was quantified for these two groups using phasor analyses of the circular cross-correlations between light exposure and activity. Circadian disruption also was determined for rats subjected to a consistent 12-hour light/12-hour dark pattern (12L:12D) and ones subjected to a "jet-lagged" schedule. Results Day-shift nurses and rats exposed to the consistent light-dark pattern exhibited pronounced similarities in their circular cross-correlation functions and 24-hour phasor representations except for an approximate 12-hour phase difference between species. The phase difference reflects the diurnal versus nocturnal behavior of humans versus rodents. Phase differences within species likely reflect chronotype differences among individuals. Rotating-shift nurses and rats subjected to the "jet-lagged" schedule exhibited significant reductions in phasor magnitudes compared to the day-shift nurses and the 12L:12D rats. The reductions in the 24-hour phasor magnitudes indicate a loss of behavioral entrainment compared to the nurses and the rats with regular light-dark exposure patterns. Conclusion This paper provides a quantitative foundation for systematically studying the impact of light-induced circadian disruption in humans and in animal models. Ecological light and activity data are needed to develop the essential insights into circadian entrainment/disruption actually experienced by modern people. These data can now be obtained and analyzed to reveal the interrelationship between actual light exposures and markers of circadian rhythm such as rest-activity patterns, core body temperature, and melatonin synthesis. Moreover, it should now be possible to bridge ecological studies of circadian disruption in humans to parametric studies of the relationships between circadian disruption and health outcomes using animal models.</p

Preliminary evidence for a change in spectral sensitivity of the circadian system at night

BACKGROUND: It is well established that the absolute sensitivity of the suprachiasmatic nucleus to photic stimulation received through the retino-hypothalamic tract changes throughout the 24-hour day. It is also believed that a combination of classical photoreceptors (rods and cones) and melanopsin-containing retinal ganglion cells participate in circadian phototransduction, with a spectral sensitivity peaking between 440 and 500 nm. It is still unknown, however, whether the spectral sensitivity of the circadian system also changes throughout the solar day. Reported here is a new study that was designed to determine whether the spectral sensitivity of the circadian retinal phototransduction mechanism, measured through melatonin suppression and iris constriction, varies at night. METHODS: Human adult males were exposed to a high-pressure mercury lamp [450 lux (170 μW/cm(2)) at the cornea] and an array of blue light emitting diodes [18 lux (29 μW/cm(2)) at the cornea] during two nighttime experimental sessions. Both melatonin suppression and iris constriction were measured during and after a one-hour light exposure just after midnight and just before dawn. RESULTS: An increase in the percentage of melatonin suppression and an increase in pupil constriction for the mercury source relative to the blue light source at night were found, suggesting a temporal change in the contribution of photoreceptor mechanisms leading to melatonin suppression and, possibly, iris constriction by light in humans. CONCLUSION: The preliminary data presented here suggest a change in the spectral sensitivity of circadian phototransduction mechanisms at two different times of the night. These findings are hypothesized to be the result of a change in the sensitivity of the melanopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells to light during the night

Clinical Study Short-Wavelength Light Enhances Cortisol Awakening Response in Sleep-Restricted Adolescents

Levels of cortisol, a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, follow a daily, 24-hour rhythm with concentrations reaching a minimum in the evening and a peak near rising time. In addition, cortisol levels exhibit a sharp peak in concentration within the first hour after waking; this is known as the cortisol awakening response (CAR). The present study is a secondary analysis of a larger study investigating the impact of short-wavelength (λ max ≈ 470 nm) light on CAR in adolescents who were sleep restricted. The study ran over the course of three overnight sessions, at least one week apart. The experimental sessions differed in terms of the light exposure scenarios experienced during the evening prior to sleeping in the laboratory and during the morning after waking from a 4.5-hour sleep opportunity. Eighteen adolescents aged 12-17 years were exposed to dim light or to 40 lux (0.401 W/m 2 ) of 470-nm peaking light for 80 minutes after awakening. Saliva samples were collected every 20 minutes to assess CAR. Exposure to short-wavelength light in the morning significantly enhanced CAR compared to dim light. Morning exposure to short-wavelength light may be a simple, yet practical way to better prepare adolescents for an active day

Perfil da pecuária leiteira em Rondônia.

Dada a importância econômica e social da pecuária leiteira estadual, buscou-se através da aplicação de 361 questionários se conhecer o perfil econômico, social e produtivo predominante na pecuária leiteira estadual. As informações colhidas possibilitou identificar que a produção de leite é a principal fonte de renda em 56% das propriedades visitadas, 47,9% dos produtores apresentaram uma renda média de três a cinco salários mínimos e, 87,3% dos produtores consultados tinham a família como mão-de-obra