Effects of different drying conditions on key quality parameters of pink peppercorns (Schinus terebinthifolius raddi)

Pink peppercorns are among the most sophisticated condiments in the international cuisine. This culinary spice is obtained from dried fruits of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, a species native to South America. In this work, a methodology for the assessment of pink peppercorn quality under various drying conditions was defined. Experiments were performed in a pilot tray dryer, which ensured integrity of the product. A central composite rotatable design with 11 experiments was devised to study the influence of drying air temperature (35–75°C) and air velocity (0.3–0.9 m/s) on product quality, assessed by moisture content, color (CIELAB system), and volatile compounds. The essential oils of fresh and dried fruits were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Air temperature had the greatest influence on the quality parameters under study, while air velocity had no statistically significant effect. Considering all quality criteria, temperatures between 40 and 55°C provided the best compromise, yielding an adequate moisture content in the dried product without dramatic degradation of color and essential oil2017CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQsem informaçã

Enfermeiro escolar: a percepção dos professores sobre as atividades desenvolvidas

The aim was to understand the perception of elementary and high school teachers from public and private networks about the presence and actions of school nurses. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional field research of a quantitative nature, where an interview was carried out with teachers who work in elementary and secondary education at different public and private educational institutions about the perception of teachers regarding the role of school nurses. As a result, the survey showed that 100% of teachers believe the presence of a nurse in the school is important, even though many did not have the opportunity to work with him. It is concluded that this study points to the importance of school nurses, as through them we manage to have a longitudinally in care, seeking to bring knowledge to students at this stage of life, so that they can reduce illnesses and injuries in adulthood. A negative point is the lack of schools that have the program.Objetivou-se conhecer a percepção de professores de ensino fundamental e médio de redes públicas e privadas sobre a presença e as ações do enfermeiro escolar. Trata-se de pesquisa de campo, descritiva, transversal de natureza quantitativa, onde foi realizada uma entrevista com professores que atuam no ensino fundamental e médio de instituições de ensino públicas e privadas diversas sobre a percepção dos professores frente o papel do enfermeiro escolar. Resulta-se que a pesquisa mostrou que 100% dos professores acreditam ser importante a presença de um enfermeiro na escola, mesmo que muitos não tiveram a oportunidade de trabalhar com ele. Conclui-se que esse estudo aponta para a importância do enfermeiro escolar, pois através dele conseguimos ter uma longitudinalidade no cuidado, buscando trazer conhecimentos aos estudantes nessa fase da vida, para que reduza as doenças e agravos na vida adulta. Um ponto negativo é a carência de escola que possuem o programa

Enfermeiro escolar: a percepção dos professores sobre as atividades desenvolvidas

The aim was to understand the perception of elementary and high school teachers from public and private networks about the presence and actions of school nurses. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional field research of a quantitative nature, where an interview was carried out with teachers who work in elementary and secondary education at different public and private educational institutions about the perception of teachers regarding the role of school nurses. As a result, the survey showed that 100% of teachers believe the presence of a nurse in the school is important, even though many did not have the opportunity to work with him. It is concluded that this study points to the importance of school nurses, as through them we manage to have a longitudinally in care, seeking to bring knowledge to students at this stage of life, so that they can reduce illnesses and injuries in adulthood. A negative point is the lack of schools that have the program.Objetivou-se conhecer a percepção de professores de ensino fundamental e médio de redes públicas e privadas sobre a presença e as ações do enfermeiro escolar. Trata-se de pesquisa de campo, descritiva, transversal de natureza quantitativa, onde foi realizada uma entrevista com professores que atuam no ensino fundamental e médio de instituições de ensino públicas e privadas diversas sobre a percepção dos professores frente o papel do enfermeiro escolar. Resulta-se que a pesquisa mostrou que 100% dos professores acreditam ser importante a presença de um enfermeiro na escola, mesmo que muitos não tiveram a oportunidade de trabalhar com ele. Conclui-se que esse estudo aponta para a importância do enfermeiro escolar, pois através dele conseguimos ter uma longitudinalidade no cuidado, buscando trazer conhecimentos aos estudantes nessa fase da vida, para que reduza as doenças e agravos na vida adulta. Um ponto negativo é a carência de escola que possuem o programa

Effects of Different Drying Conditions on Key Quality Parameters of Pink Peppercorns ( Schinus terebinthifolius

Pink peppercorns are among the most sophisticated condiments in the international cuisine. This culinary spice is obtained from dried fruits of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, a species native to South America. In this work, a methodology for the assessment of pink peppercorn quality under various drying conditions was defined. Experiments were performed in a pilot tray dryer, which ensured integrity of the product. A central composite rotatable design with 11 experiments was devised to study the influence of drying air temperature (35–75°C) and air velocity (0.3–0.9 m/s) on product quality, assessed by moisture content, color (CIELAB system), and volatile compounds. The essential oils of fresh and dried fruits were extracted by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Air temperature had the greatest influence on the quality parameters under study, while air velocity had no statistically significant effect. Considering all quality criteria, temperatures between 40 and 55°C provided the best compromise, yielding an adequate moisture content in the dried product without dramatic degradation of color and essential oil

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Extraction of compounds from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi fruits : conventional technologies and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction; effects of drying on raw material quality; and antiproliferative activity in human tumor cell lines

Orientadores: Ana Maria Frattini Fileti, Mary Ann FoglioTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia QuímicaResumo: O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a extração de compostos bioativos dos frutos de Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi, espécie vegetal nativa do Brasil e que apresenta diversas atividades biológicas de interesse medicinal. Além disso, os frutos desidratados da S. terebinthifolius são amplamente utilizados como especiaria culinária, conhecida como pimenta-rosa. A ênfase do estudo foi: na avaliação dos efeitos das variáveis operacionais da hidrodestilação (Clevenger) e da extração com CO2 supercrítico sobre a qualidade dos produtos; na análise da influência da secagem sobre a qualidade da matéria-prima, sendo investigados modelos matemáticos, clássicos e por Redes Neurais Artificiais (RNAs), para a previsão da cinética de secagem; e também na análise das atividades antiproliferativas dos extratos e do óleo essencial frente a um painel de células tumorais humanas [glioma (U251), mama (MCF7), ovário com fenótipo de resistência (NCI-ADR/RES), pulmão (NCI-H460), rim (786-0), próstata (PC-3), ovário (OVCAR-3), cólon (HT29) e leucemia (K562)]. De forma geral, os resultados revelaram que o rendimento e a composição química dos extratos e do óleo essencial foram influenciados pelos seguintes fatores: condições climáticas do local de coleta dos frutos; etapas de pré-tratamento da matéria-prima (secagem); e tipo de processo e condições operacionais utilizados nas extrações. Portanto, estes resultados confirmam a importância da padronização de insumos e também do controle correto das condições operacionais dos processos extrativos utilizados para a obtenção de um produto derivado de uma espécie vegetal. Na extração do óleo essencial por hidrodestilação, foram observadas condições ótimas (rendimento maior que 6,8%) utilizando valores de razão sólido/água na faixa de 70 a 130 g/L e tempo de extração entre 4,5 e 8 h. A Cromatografia Gasosa acoplada à Espectrometria de Massas (CG-EM) revelou os seguintes compostos majoritários no óleo essencial: 'delta'-3-careno, 'alfa'-felandreno, limoneno, 'alfa'-pineno, germacreno D e cariofileno. Quanto à secagem dos frutos da S. terebinthifolius, os resultados revelaram que temperaturas na faixa de 40 a 55 °C asseguraram uma umidade adequada ao produto (6.8%) included a solid-to-water ratio of 70 to 130 g/L and an extraction time of 4.5 to 8 h. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed the following major compounds in the essential oil of S. terebinthifolius fruits: 'delta'-3-carene, 'alpha'-phellandrene, limonene, 'apha'-pinene, germacrene D, and caryophyllene. The drying of S. terebinthifolius fruits at an air temperature ranging from 40 to 55 °C provided the best results: adequate moisture (<10%) without dramatic degradation of color and essential oil. The modeling by ANNs and the models of Page, Henderson and Pabis, and Henderson (Two terms) showed the most suitable results. The global yield and chemical composition of the supercritical extracts were influenced by the pressure and temperature of scCO2, mainly due to changes in its density and solute vapor pressure. The definition of the optimal operating conditions for supercritical extraction depends on the targeted application of the extracts. Accordingly, if the objective is to obtain a product with a high content of volatile compounds (such as essential oils), a relatively low scCO2 density should be used; despite the lower yields, the extracts require relatively less laborious purification processes, showing an advantage over the supercritical extraction performed at a relatively higher scCO2 density. Regarding antiproliferative activity, our results revealed potent activity against kidney cancer in all products from S. terebinthifolius fruits: essential oil obtained under optimized conditions [Total Growth Inhibition (TGI)=0.04 µg/mL] and supercritical extracts obtained at a temperature range of 50 to 60 °C, irrespective of the pressure used (TGI<3.9 µg/mL). Furthermore, the following antiproliferative activities were highlighted: supercritical extract obtained at 200 bar and 50 °C showed potent activity against multidrug-resistant ovarian (TGI=1.2 µg/mL), prostate (TGI=4 µg/mL), ovarian (TGI=4.4 µg/mL) cancer cell lines and glioma (TGI=3.9 µg/mL) cell line; and the essential oil obtained under optimized conditions showed potent activity for all cell lines investigated. These results suggest that the volatile compounds extracted from S. terebinthifolius fruits, especially the sesquiterpenes (caryophyllene and germacrene D), might be the active metabolites responsible for the above-mentioned antiproliferative activitiesDoutoradoEngenharia QuímicaDoutor em Engenharia Química140318/2013-5CNP

Drying Of Brazilian Pepper-tree Fruits (schinus Terebinthifolius Raddi): Development Of Classical Models And Artificial Neural Network Approach

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)In this study, the drying process of Brazilian pepper-tree fruits (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) was investigated, with emphasis on the development of models for the drying kinetics. A central composite rotable design (CCRD) with 11 experiments was carried out. In each experiment, the drying kinetics and the drying rate were observed. Classical models were fitted to the drying data, as well as a model based on Artificial Intelligence. The results revealed that the air temperature has the greatest influence on the process in the range of the experimental conditions. The modeling by artificial neural network and the Henderson model showed the most suitable results.202810891097Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Drying of Brazilian pepper-tree fruits (Schinus terebinthifolius raddi): development of classical models and artificial neural network approach

In this study, the drying process of Brazilian pepper-tree fruits (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi) was investigated, with emphasis on the development of models for the drying kinetics. A central composite rotable design (CCRD) with 11 experiments was carried out. In each experiment, the drying kinetics and the drying rate were observed. Classical models were fitted to the drying data, as well as a model based on Artificial Intelligence. The results revealed that the air temperature has the greatest influence on the process in the range of the experimental conditions. The modeling by artificial neural network and the Henderson model showed the most suitable results202810891097CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQsem informaçã

Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of compounds from Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi fruits: Effects of operating conditions on global yield, volatile compounds, and antiproliferative activity against human tumor cell lines

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi is a South American plant with medicinal properties. We report the extraction of compounds from S. terebinthifolius fruits using supercritical CO2 (scCO2), with emphasis on the effects of scCO2 pressure (100–300 bar) and temperature (40–60 °C) on global yield, volatile compounds, and antiproliferative activity against nine human tumor cell lines. Supercritical extracts obtained at 50–60 °C, independently of pressure, showed potent activity against kidney cancer with total growth inhibition <3.9 μg/mL. Furthermore, extracts obtained at 200 bar and 50 °C showed potent activity against multidrug-resistant ovarian, prostate, and ovarian tumor cell lines, and glioma. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed the following volatile compounds: δ-3-carene, α-phellandrene, limonene, germacrene D, and caryophyllene. The results suggest that sesquiterpenes may be the metabolites responsible for the antiproliferative activity. However, future work involving fractionation of the extracts might shed light on the chemical compounds responsible for each antiproliferative activity1301016CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQsem informaçã